Spirit of the Dead
by ElvenDestiny
Summary: The discovery of an ancient Egyptian pharaoh's tomb attracts the attention of Seto Kaiba and Yami as they unlock secrets to their past. Everyone ignores the deadly Curse of the Pharaohs on the tomb – that is, until people begin to die. SxYY, prideshipping
1. Discovery

**Spirit of the Dead**

ElveNDestiNy

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! though I do own the idea for this story, etc.

Important: I started this story a **long** time ago, before I knew that Yu-gi-oh! already has an ancient Egypt arc. After I found out, I discontinued it for obvious reasons. Since then, I've had some good ideas so this story has changed a lot. I've also been inspired by new information about King Tutanhkamun and the kinds of things done to his body after discovery. Carter's team needed to separate Tut from his adornments so they removed his head and severed almost every major joint, for example, and recently, 1,700 scans have been taken of his body. Anyway, this story is officially being updated again as I've plotted it out and about half of it written. No romance was planned when I started this three years ago but since then I've discovered some cool stuff so be warned: this might eventually be prideshipping, YYS.

Sources: June 2005 edition of the _National Geographic_ magazine, "Modern Technology Reopens the Ancient Case of King Tut" by A.R. Williams. I highly recommend because it has some of the most spectacular pictures of the opening to Tut's inner sanctum as well as a CG-ed imaging of his face. I have several other sources I'll cite later.

Key (the front hyphen is sometimes missing because the site removes them. Sorry!):

_-Yugi to Yami-_

_--Yami to Yugi--_

**Prologue: **

The hot Egyptian sun burned down upon them, and even inside the tent the heat just didn't let up. Two archaeologists were sitting in the meager shade, gazing out on the team of robed and turbaned Egyptian natives slowly uncovering a series of steps. Despite the overwhelming heat, a sort of exultation was on their sweating faces, and both were smiling rapturously as they gazed at the scene. A common passerby might have wondered why they seemed so ecstatic, for the golden-brown Egyptians were busily uncovering simple stone steps in the gritty sand, in the middle of the desert. Three more steps had been uncovered in the two hours since they had found the first.

Soon, the archaeologists stood outside again in the sweltering heat. Their bodies had not adapted as entirely to this bleak environment as those that were born there had, and while both were almost as tanned as the natives, it was still obvious that they were foreigners, outlanders not from these parts.

"James, we've finally done it. We've discovered something big. I just know we have!" one said.

"Don't get your hopes too high up, Jonathan," the other warned cautiously. "You know the chances of discovering an untouched tomb are virtually nil, unless it's someone of little importance. It seems like we're the only archaeologists in the world who still believe this land," he gestured to their barren desert surroundings, "hides untouched treasures. They say, 'this is the twentieth century. Anything worth discovering would have already been discovered.'"

"Look at all the trouble they took into carving these steps. It's a pharaoh, James, I'm certain of it." Jonathan replied. "This is almost the exact same way Tutankhamen's tomb was found. Imagine, we are in the exact same position as Howard Carter was over 50 years ago…"

**Chapter 1: Discovery **

Yugi, Yami, Grandpa, and the others were back at home again, and Yugi was elated. School had started, but aside from some surprises, life was quite calm, and even facing the prospect of hours of homework didn't daunt the high spirits of Yugi and his friends. It was Saturday, almost six, and dark outside. Joey, Tea, Tristan, and Ryou were over in the Turtle Game Shop, where they usually hung out. Joey was busily devouring a slice of strawberry cheesecake, Tristan and Tea were engaged in a friendly game of Duel Monsters, and Ryou was halfheartedly watching TV. Yami and Yugi were watching their friends and talking to each other.

Not that anyone else could see Yami, but they knew that when Yugi got that vacant look in his mind, it was best not to disturb him. He got irritable when people barged in during his conversations with Yami, and for someone so short and usually sweet-tempered, Yugi could be quite astonishing in his wrath. Especially when their conversation happened to be on the subject of Yami's mysterious past.

"So have you heard from Serenity, Joey?" Tea asked. She wasn't concentrating on the game but their life points were tied, most likely due to the fact Tristan wasn't paying much attention either. They barely played, after all.

"Yeah, I just talked to her on the phone yesterday! She's doing fine, and plus, she told me that she might be coming here to visit. She's gonna be living with me!" Joey said excitedly.

"I'm so glad for you, Joey!" Yugi exclaimed. "That's great news!"

Tea nodded. "It'll be nice to have another girl around so we can go shopping together." At Tristan and Joey's look of disgust, she rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "_Boys_." An idea occurred to her and she smiled, knowing the perfect way to get even with Joey. She tapped Ryou's shoulder and when he turned around, she motioned him closer and whispered something in his ear. Ryou answered back in a soft voice so that the others couldn't hear.

"Hey, no fair, don't help her, Ryou!" Tristan protested when Tea played her Magician of Faith with a trap card, wiping out Tristan's monster and drastically reducing his life points. He dragged Yugi over. "Or else I get Yugi to help me!"

"Aww, fine, be that way." Tea muttered. She sighed, and drew another card from her deck, staring dreamily off into space. Tristan took one look at her and knew she was imagining some sort of ballet dance. He grinned; he was going to press the advantage.

"Say, I'm glad we're back here and it's just like the old times, y' know? No more weird monsters running around, the world isn't in need of rescuing, and no maniacs tryin' ta kill people. No more arrogant CEOs thinking that they rule the world, either," Joey remarked as Tristan played two cards facedown. He smirked, obviously the most satisfied with his last observation.

It was dark outside, and Grandpa had just come out of the back room to close the shop when the little electronic doorbell rang shrilly, signally someone's entrance. Yugi was the only one who looked up as soft footsteps approached their little group. He found himself smiling uncertainly at none other than Seto Kaiba.

"Well, speak of the devil," Joey muttered as he finished the last crumb of his cake and looked up. "Lucky us." There was no way Kaiba could have missed the remark, or the sarcasm.

"Puppy dog, you should consider it an honor that you can be seen with me at all," Kaiba said with a smirk, unfazed by the reception he was getting.

"Why you arrogant—"

"Errr…hi Kaiba." Yugi said, elbowing Joey into silence. The others echoed him more slowly. "What are you doing here?"

Kaiba opened his mouth to answer, but Ryou interrupted from where he was on the couch.

"Great Scott! Quiet, everyone! Something really big is on the news!" Ryou said, voice unusually loud and commanding. He turned up the volume. They turned to watch the T.V. and sure enough, a special report was interrupting all the regular channels.

"No one ever expected such an unearthing over eighty years after the famous discovery of the tomb of King Tutankhamen by Howard Carter on February 17, 1923. Tut, of course, became well known throughout the world, as much for the mystery surrounding his life in ancient Egypt as for that of his discoverers' deaths. Archaeologists say that they are amazed to find a completely undisturbed tomb that has been hidden until now. Now we'll join Terry at the evacuation site in El Minya, Egypt. Terry?"

The screen showed a reporter amid dozens of others, all pushing and shoving each other. It was live news, but because of the time differences the screen showed people in bright daylight. The cameras weren't showing much except for a bunch of yellow police tape and a lot of security personnel trying to put order to the teeming masses of reporters speaking in every possible language and from what seemed like every country in the world. The reporter had caught the interest of Yugi, Kaiba, and the others when she mentioned the mummified Egyptian boy-king, and Ryou was especially rapt since his father was an archaeologist.

"Thank you, Alice. Well, right now we are at the excavation site of the discovery. The main doors are still sealed, as the excavations have only begun, but close inspection has showed us that this tomb has indeed been undisturbed all this time. The discovery was made earlier today by Jonathan Stevens and his partner, James Bakura." The camera zoomed in to show a blonde haired man besides a dark haired man in a hat, both grinning happily.

"That's Dad!" Ryou yelled out in excitement. "Bloody hell, THAT'S MY DAD!" It seemed to break the spell of silence, because then everyone started talking at once, even the normally silent Kaiba. Nothing could be heard until Ryou yelled again for everyone to be quiet.

"Breaking news…yes, I repeat, an ancient Egyptian tomb has been found in the most extraordinary manner."

"They were digging for it. They found it. What's so extraordinary about that?" Joey said, evidently feeling that he was making a smart comment until several pairs of eyes glared him into silence.

"…and right here you can see the marvelously preserved doors, still sealed, that most likely will lead to the tomb or the treasure room." The screen was filled with the image of two massive twin doors illuminated by many flashlights. There were a lot of pictures, but the main ones seemed to focus on the Egyptian hieroglyphs were carved all over the doors, and the hieroglyphs near the center of the doors, with blank space around them emphasizing their importance. It was Yugi who first noticed the faint outline of a shape behind all the black hieroglyphs and recognized it for the Dark Magician even as the reporter remarked on the uncanny similarity the shape had to some Duel Monsters card.

The others were just as surprised at the outline, but then the screen showed the hieroglyphs on the doors on a blue computerized background, with the translation in English beneath the symbols. A feminine electronic voice read the translation out loud.

"Death shall slay on wings of light those who dare disturb the peace of the pharaoh." The words sent shivers up the spines of the avid listeners.

"A very similar inscription was found at the discovery of King Tut's tomb, but no pictures of the tablet bearing the words were ever taken and the tablet itself was lost, though the curse was common knowledge. Whether there is a curse or not, no one can say, but to date at least three dozen people related to the discovery of the young pharaoh's tomb have died in unexpected ways. Even so, Stevens and Bakura say they will certainly not stop the excavations and that they are confident they have little to fear from the famous 'curse of the pharaohs'."

The camera again zoomed to the doors, to the inscriptions that seemed to be repeated over and over. "Professor Donald Actwin, renowned professor of Egyptology, believes that these inscriptions actually spell out the name of the pharaoh who lies within. However, the name has not been deciphered yet, so the pharaoh remains nameless. We will keep you updated on any developments in that area." The screen showed a white haired man in his sixties, evidently Professor Actwin.

"Whoever he is, the pharaoh seems to have been highly respected during his reign, although some evidence may show that he did not rule for very long. In fact, from the pictures and hieroglyphs on the walls of this corridor, scholars have deduced that he may not have been much older that Tutankhamen himself, placing the unknown pharaoh's age at around sixteen to twenty four. However, further information is not known yet; we must wait for the doors to be opened first."

"And one last bit of information for now: whoever the pharaoh is, he is somehow connected to seven items, as showed here on this wall. These symbols appear repeatedly on the walls of the tomb and seem to be of a special significance. One is very similar to the Egyptian Eye of Horus and another is clearly a scale, perhaps symbolizing the scale that determines the fate of the soul. The Egyptians believed strongly in the Afterlife and that each man's heart would be weighed against the Feather of Truth. The other items, however, are still a mystery as to what they perhaps symbolize, and their significance."

For a few minutes the screen simply showed shots of the ongoing excavation from different angles and they watched, rapt, unable to quite believe that something like this would be on the news.

"For those of you unfamiliar with the knowledge, it has been suspected that King Tut had been murdered through a blow to his head that showed up on a CT scan. The young estimated age of this pharaoh may also lend support to the belief that he met an untimely death, perhaps fighting to retain control of his crown. We will return at 6:30 pm for an update on this marvelous find." The special news report ended, and Ryou pushed the mute button as the commercials came on.

"Wow, I can't believe someone has found a pharaoh's tomb!" Yugi exclaimed. "It must be at least forty years since the last pharaoh was discovered. So many people have been digging in Egypt since the fifteenth century and after King Tut, everyone had a sudden interest in discoveries."

"Egypt…" Kaiba mused, still standing by Yugi.

"How'd you know all this, Yugi?" asked Tristan, puzzled. "You're like an expert at this!"

"_Everyone_ studies ancient Egypt for at least a year in world history. Besides, I've always been fascinated with Egypt." Yugi smiled to himself, sending his amusement to his yami through their link, but the room suddenly fell silent. Yugi looked up to see what he never thought he would see: his friends staring at Yami. Granted, they were looking at a somewhat transparent Yami, but one still clearly visible to them. Kaiba let out a surprised muttered curse and stepped away, amazed at the appearance of two Yugis when he had so vehemently denied the existence of Yami.

But all eyes returned to Yami when they heart a soft, choked sound seeming to have come from his direction.

_-Yami?-_ Yugi asked, concerned. _-Is something wrong?-_

Yami didn't answer. He was very pale, and his face seemed wan and drawn in the light from the television screen. He slowly turned so that he was facing them and his back was to the T.V. His crimson eyes now seemed even more angular and exotic than ever, emphasized by his golden, tanned skin, and there was an unreadable expression on his shadowed face. His slenderness usually accented his strength, but now he only seemed fragile…almost vulnerable.

Yugi had never seen him like this. It was such an unusual expression that it heightened his alarm considerably and he tried to grab Yami's arm, forgetting that they could not touch.

Yami's eyes didn't meet any of their questioning ones, and he turned away so that his profile was thrown into shadow. There was such defeat and loneliness in his posture that Yugi almost cried out for his darker half and, in fact, did. But what had caused everyone to become silent and to turn to Yami was that in his usually defiant eyes, there was a naked look of helpless shock, fury, and panic.

_-Yami! What's wrong? Please, Yami, tell me what's wrong!-_

Again, Yami did not answer. Yugi tried to enter his yami's soul room, but only found the way blocked off and barricaded.

_-Yami…please!-_ Yugi was near tears as the spirit of his puzzle continued to ignore him, shutting out everything and everyone. Yami was never so cold towards him, as if the walls of his soul room had truly sprung up between them. The others were staring at Yugi and Yami, since they couldn't hear the conversation that they knew must be taking place. But finally, Yami relented, or rather, his defenses seemed to crumble away.

Physically, Yugi ran to Yami as he felt his dark's confusion and pain suddenly flood across their link. Yami hugged Yugi even as he felt Yugi's shock when he guessed and half-discovered the truth.

"It's—it's _your_ t-tomb…that's your b-body in there…" Yugi stammered, so surprised that his arms drew away from his yami. Moments later, however, he pulled Yami back into a tight embrace, feeling hot tears drop on his neck. _He's crying_, Yugi realized, but it didn't surprise him.

The implications ran quickly through his wondering and shocked mind, but his concern for Yami pushed them all to the back of his mind._ -Oh, Yami.-_ he breathed. And his soft voice contained a world of sorrow.

o -

**Please review! Thanks!**


	2. Past and Future

**Spirit of the Dead**

ElveNDestiNy

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! No copyright infringement intended.

Note: Somewhat AU since I haven't seen all of YGO and none of the Egyptian arc. Also, although Ryou has the Millennium ring, everyone believes that Yami Bakura is still in the Shadow Realm.

Key:

_-Yugi to Yami-_

_--Yami to Yugi--_

**Chapter 2: Past and Future**

None of them knew what to do. Yugi's words had shocked them and the emotion Yami had not been able to conceal further disconcerted them. With Yugi, they would have hugged him and comforted him, but this was _Yami_, after all. Not only was he intangible, he was aloof, and they didn't know him that well, beyond what Yugi had told them. The situation they found themselves in was so entirely unexpected and fantastical. They stood there, unsure of what to say and how to act, wavering between the wish to comfort Yami and yet also a little in awe of him.

Ryou had always been a little distant with the group sometimes, and Tristan, Joey, and Tea still regarded Seto Kaiba with less than friendly outlooks. Their presence made everything even more awkward, added to the fact that Bakura's father was one of the leading archaeologists who had discovered Yami's tomb.

After the first few tears, seen and felt only by Yugi, Yami had withdrawn again, concealing his emotions behind an impenetrable façade, holding everyone, even Yugi, an arms distance away both emotionally and physically. He turned so that his back was to them.

"Yami…" Yugi said, voice trailing away. There was nothing he could say. What do you say do someone who's a spirit and who knows their mummified body is being dug up somewhere? He could only imagine the horror that Yami must be feeling.

Yami's lithe frame visibly flinched at Yugi's questioning tone and his shoulders hunched a little, as if he was expecting a blow. Surprisingly, it was Seto Kaiba who went up to him from behind, laid gentle hands on the shoulders of his rival, and turned him around to face him, looking steadily at the spirit with clear, compassionate eyes. Joey almost freaked out at Kaiba's actions and Yami pulled away savagely, unwilling to deal with his rival in this, of all times. Yugi hurried up to Yami, expecting some sort of confrontation.

"Yami, is it true? Then what about the curse?" Kaiba said, looking down at the shorter boy. His voice held none of its usual scathing sarcasm or coldness. He had felt the tenseness in his rival's shoulders, and despite his cold outward expression, inside he ached a little when he thought of what Yami must be suffering. Yugi hurried up to Yami and slid his arms around his waist, embracing his dark half tightly, as if trying to protect him from Kaiba.

"It is true," Yami replied in a soft voice. "I don't know about the rest." Suddenly, he twisted away from both of them, sat down on a chair, and buried his face in his hands. "I don't know about the curse," he said, his voice rising and breaking. Then, so softly they could barely hear him, he whispered, "I'm not sure."

He looked at each of them. Unexpectedly, he laughed, yet the sound held all the bitterness and pain and grief he never showed, and nearly broke Yugi's heart. "I barely remember anything from my past. I'm not sure how I came to be in the Millennium Puzzle, or why I'm here," he said, "or even my true name."

"What'dya mean? Your name's Yami!" Joey blurted out.

Yami gave him a level stare and smiled sarcastically. "'Yami' isn't my real name, just as I wasn't always a spirit. I don't _remember_."

"Idiot…Yami simply means dark, it's not a _name_. Besides, the word's Japanese…Yami's an _Egyptian_ pharaoh." Tristan replied almost at the same time.

"It's like when Shadi and I explored your soul room. Yami, why did you block us out? I know you have secrets, and I respect that, but…someone might have been hurt!" Yugi exclaimed.

"I…" Yami started. He looked down. "I don't know. I didn't intentionally try to keep you out. It just…happened."

"Who's Shadi?" Joey asked, but everyone ignored him.

"Yami, you were Pharaoh," Tea said, gesturing to the still muted TV. "You know that much."

"Yes." Yami hesitated, but continued anyway with the question that had been haunting in for so long. "But what kind of pharaoh was I? Why was my spirit sealed away in the Millennium Puzzle?" The others looked at him helplessly, at a loss for a comforting answer to those questions. They could only imagine what he felt knowing that people had discovered his tomb. Even Yugi, who knew him best, was troubled.

"But the tomb…what are we going to—" Yugi started to say. He stopped as he flung an arm up to cover his eyes from the burning bright light that had suddenly began to shine in the middle of the room. Cries of surprise came from the others as well as the light expanded and pulsed. Finally, something stepped out and all the light vanished, to everyone's relief.

When their eyes had adjusted again, they saw a tall, dark-skinned man with a turban in front of them, with curious white linen robes and gold jewelry.

"Shadi!" Yugi gasped at once.

"So _that's_ who Yugi was talking about." Joey muttered to himself. The others simply stared at the Egyptian with undisguised curiosity.

"Yugi, Yami—" his dark eyes swept around the room briefly, "and all of you, I suppose—it is time." He looked at each of them, but his gazed lingered on Seto as if he were measuring his worth, and on Ryou and his Millennium Ring.

"Time for what?" Joey asked.

"Who do you think you are?" Seto challenged.

"_Silence,_" he hissed.

Instantly, the room fell quiet. Shadi pointed the golden Millennium Key at Yami, who gazed at it with widened eyes. The Key began to glow; softly at first and then becoming brighter. "I shall unlock the past and bring it forth!" Shadi commanded.

Yugi felt sick. The room seemed to swirl around him and his body fell, but when he tried to get up, he realized that he was looking at his own body from above. Looking around, he saw the fallen bodies of his friends as well—and their almost ghostly figures, also standing. They had left the physical dimension behind.

"W-what is this?" He glanced around for Yami, but while Yami's spirit was there, he had no physical body lying on the ground like Yugi's own. The next instant, Yugi gasped and instinctively grabbed for something as the room spiraled a second time, this time slowly going black, like it was fading. The walls, ceiling, and even the floor disappeared to be replaced by a black void. It was eerily like Yugi's experiences of the Shadow Realm, but somehow different. He closed his eyes and tried to calm himself as he felt the nonexistent 'floor' below him tilt and sink.

When Yugi next opened his eyes, he realized he was squeezing someone's hand very hard.

"Let go, aibou." Yami growled. Yugi hastily let go, and Yami flexed his rather sore fingers cautiously.

Yugi was relieved to see everyone still with them, even Shadi. However, their surroundings looked nothing like the room they were in. All he could see was what looked like a gigantic stone _wall_ in front of him, and light golden sand all around.

"Where are we?" he asked Shadi. The Egyptian motioned for them to gather close and be silent. After a while, Yugi shifted restlessly on the sand.

"Are we waiting for anything in particular? Or are you going to tell us were we are?" Yami was obviously apprehensive, although Yugi and the rest had no idea what was going on.

"Be quiet!" Shadi hissed at him.

Just as Tristan, Seto, and Joey all opened their mouths to retort, they became quiet. Ears strained to pick up the distant sound. It was a rhythmic chant in some foreign language, oddly soothing to hear but somehow mournful and glorious at the same time.

Out of the corner of his eye, Yugi saw Shadi frowning, then watched as the Egyptian briefly touched his hand to the Key. Suddenly, they could understand what was being said, although the language sounded no different, nor less strange.

"Mighty Ra, guide this soul to the river of darkness, protect him, nourish him on his path. Great Amun, accept this sacrifice and shield those who remain from harm."

In the distance, the small figures of the chanting people appeared. They gradually got larger as they advanced to the pyramid in front of them. As soon as they were close enough to be seen clearly, the waiting group, with the exception of Shadi, gasped. The middle person, wearing cloth of gold robes and bedecked with golden armbands and jewelry, looked exactly like Yami. They watched silently as the people walked into the tomb. Shadi led them so that they, too, were in the chamber. It contained a throne, torches, and a large space, as if for a dueling arena.

"On this day I willing sacrifice all the power I possess, to save this world from harm. Great gods and goddesses, watch and guide these children of Egypt. Take my offering so that the Shadow Powers shall be sealed forever. I give myself into your hands, and accept my destiny."

As the group watched silently, the pharaoh knelt in the sand, and began to glow. The crimson color surrounded him and melted the sand around him, but the pharaoh simply closed his eyes, face serene and composed, although it seemed like it was painful. Suddenly, however, another young man appeared—this time out of nowhere. Again the group gasped; it was Kaiba, an Egyptian Kaiba wearing the white and gold robes of a High Priest dedicated to Amun-Re. He, too, was wearing jewelry, and his eyes were outlined with kohl, with heavy black lines nearly reaching his temples.

Apparently the appearance of Kaiba had stopped the magic from completely working, because the crimson glow around the pharaoh suddenly vanished.

"Pharaoh, I challenge you to a duel!" the Egyptian Kaiba shouted out.

The pharaoh Yami accepted. Above, Yami, Yugi, Seto, and the others gasped as they realized what was happening. At first, Yami and Seto dueled, using the Shadow Powers. The duel seemed to last for an eternity as the forces fighting within slowly destroyed the stone chamber. The images shimmered as if time had changed again, and they saw both opponents, now clearly exhausted, nearing the end of their strength. When the monsters proved too dangerous, Yami summoned forth some magic.

"Swords of Revealing Light," Yugi whispered, recognizing them immediately. Nearby, Kaiba jerked his head at the name of the card but his eyes remained focused intently on the duel below.

Whatever the Pharaoh shouted to his High Priest was lost to the watchers as the three Blue-Eyes White Dragons roared with furty. But they knew what was happening before them, anyway, and watched as the Pharaoh sacrificed his life and sealed his own soul within the Millennium Puzzle.

The Millennium items glowed as the pharaoh fell to the ground, and his followers in stark white robes took them. The scene wavered in front of the watchers, reappearing in some period of later time, and they saw seven Egyptians leaving, each bearing an item to hide throughout Egypt.

Later, the Millennium items were reunited again, but the House of Ishtar guarded them in a secret temple near the Valley of Kings. Shadi bore some of the Millennium items, but the others had been either lost, or given away to fulfill their destiny.

Shadi turned to them as they saw all this happen. "And so destiny repeats itself—with Seto Kaiba as the living reincarnation. Once again, his quest for power and dominance may bring the world to ruin, and this time, the spirit of the Puzzle, the soul of the pharaoh, stands in his way, yet again."

Their surroundings where spiraling again, turning into a weird kaleidoscope of colors. Slowly, the Game Shop appeared again, and Yugi, Yami, Bakura and the others' souls returned to their physical bodies.

When they had all gotten up again, Shadi was still standing there.

"Do you understand now?" he asked. "It is essential that Yami rediscover and face his fears of his past, and that Seto Kaiba learns who he truly is, so that they may help each other as they face the greatest of trials now. "'For the Past shall meet the Future.' So states the Book of the Dead. Events in the future will follow history's course unless prevented, unless we learn from the past and stop this madness."

"But what, first we have to learn to work together like good little children?" Kaiba snapped out, having regained his composure—and cynicism, and sarcasm, and…well, suffice to say Kaiba was completely back to his normal self—more quickly than the others.

Shadi gave him a long look and Yami opened his mouth to ask some questions, or perhaps to retort. But whatever Shadi found in Kaiba's expression had satisfied him, because he disappeared before Yami could so much as get a word out.

"Now, what was all that about?" Tristan asked to no one in particular.

"Does that mean Yami will die again? But he can't!" Tea exclaimed. They all turned to look at her, and she blushed a little. "I mean, he's already a spirit, and he's already dead, right?"

Yami glared at her. "I am _not _'just' a spirit."

Yugi would have smiled at his yami's tone if he hadn't been so worried.

"Aren't we all kind of missing the point here?" Bakura asked softly from behind. They all jumped a little. The room was still dark, and the glow from the T.V. turned his hair into a fiery platinum, creating the effect that some sort otherworldly light shined on him from above.

"What point? What's the guy talking about, anyway?"

"_Well, _Joey, obviously Shadi wanted to show us exactly how Yami died, and how everything that happened in ancient Egypt will happen all over again with Yami and Yugi against Kaiba."

"So Yami's gonna fight with Kaiba?" Joey smirked. "You better get used to having your butt kicked, Kaiba-boy," he drawled, trying to imitate Pegasus's tone of voice.

"I don't intend to lose to anyone; unlike _you_, puppy-dog."

"You'll probably have to kill Yami before you win."

"Rest assured, I'm not some psycho who goes around killing everyone."

"But Seto, you just do it _sooo_ well," Joey drawled. He finally shut up when Seto turned to him with ice in his blue eyes.

"Then maybe I'll start with _you._"

"You guys, I'm sure your exchange of insults is just _fascinating_, but we really have to figure out what Shadi meant!" Tea said.

"I don't see what his bunch of mumbo-jumbo has to do with any of us," Joey said.

"For goodness' sake, he just took us to Yami's past, showed how Yami died to save the world while fighting with the Egyptian version of Kaiba, and basically said that the whole thing is going to happen all over again! The least we can do is follow his advice and figure out how to prevent this!"

Everyone stared at Tea after her outburst, but she was so mad she didn't even care.

"And in the meantime, Yami's _body_ is being dug up or whatever, and you guys are just going to sit around and—"

"Tea, be quiet! The news report—it's six thirty right now and they're opening the tomb, I mean, Yami's tomb!" Bakura exclaimed. He pushed the mute button again. Everyone sat down and leaned forward toward the television screen attentively.

"Breaking news…and now, Terry again, with exclusive coverage of the opening of the pharaoh's tomb in El Minya, Egypt. Back to you, Terry," said the pretty, blond reporter, Alice.

"Yes, here in the city of El Minya, Egypt, excitement and tension is high as James Bakura and Jonathan Stevens prepare to unlock the tomb. Those present include several highly influential personages from around the world, as well as the president and other officials of Egypt. And now…"

Bakura's father, the man with dark blue-black hair, smiled at the camera as with the already slightly opened stone doors gave with one massive heave, and opened. Nothing was distinguishable at first, but as light was show into the dark doorway, something bright and glittery caught the eye. Gold—massive amounts of gold in every form possible, from delicate necklaces to solid gold statues of various gods and goddesses. In one corner of the room, a wooden chariot decorated with electrum—a costly mixture of gold and silver—stood, piled high with sealed jars of food, clothing, and wine.

Everything in the room caught the eye, with the items of precious metal, and the beautiful artwork and designs. It was obvious from the first that the tomb was untouched—it contained the wealth of kings, the gold of a prosperous kingdom paying homage to a great, if young, pharaoh. And this was just the outermost sanctum. Beyond, they could see another set of double doors, gilded in gold and covered with two fantastic winged goddesses and filled with hieroglyphs.

Even the cameramen were quiet as they followed Jonathan Stevens and James Bakura into the chamber, the moment overcoming even their instinctive fighting for the best ratings for their respective TV companies. James led the way, walking to an opening in the far wall. Two life-sized figures guarded the second doorway; guardians that the Egyptians believed would steal the souls of any who dared enter the room. Their painted, gigantic, dark blue eyes glared accusingly out at the intruders.

As Yugi and his friends watched, the second set of doors were opened, revealing more treasures, and a third door. And then they lost count as they passed through the glittering rooms and sets of doors and slowly, advanced into the heart of the pharaoh's sanctuary.

No one spoke as the last doors were opened, as if they sensed that this was it. Lights were passed into the dark area and shone on treasures beyond the eye's comprehension. Only a handful of people were allowed into this room: the discoverers, their own cameraman, and two reporters. The people filed into the room, where they surrounded the sarcophagus, a beautiful rendering of the pharaoh's body, in full royal regalia. On his brow was the royal cobra and vulture. The funerary mask was uncannily similar to Tutankhamun's.

Once in the room, everyone was respectfully quiet, and no one made a move to touch or open the sarcophagus at all. After a few moments, the reporters were shooed out of the burial chambers again. There was nothing words could add to the images they had just captured, so the news program switched to commercial.

"Yami, do you suppose anything will happen to you if they start messing around with your body?" Yugi asked. It felt strange to look at Yami and also be talking about his mummified 3,000 year old corpse. Inwardly, he asked _-Are you all right, Yami?-_

_--I will be.--_ Yami replied brusquely. It didn't sound very promising. Out loud, he answered, "I don't know."

"Must feel weird knowing they're gonna dissect you and probably display you in some museum," Joey blurted out, voicing what was on everyone's mind. Yami looked away and everyone glared at Joey. "Hey, no offense," Joey said hastily, holding his hands up to ward off the others. "It just doesn't seem right to stand around and watch Yami's grave practically dug up on T.V."

"Just shut up, Joey," Tea said angrily, overlapping Tristan's retort.

"Well, what do you suggest we do, Joey?" Tristan asked pointedly. "We're half a world away from Egypt, and it's not as if we can erase everyone's memories and seal up Yami's tomb again. It's bound to be found again sooner or later." Then he glanced uneasily at Yami. "You can't, can you? Erase everyone's memories, I mean?"

"No," Yami said absently. The commercials ended, and everyone quieted again.

"Welcome back. That was a remarkable glimpse of the past, of ancient Egypt. Carbon-14 dating has revealed that this tomb is likely have been made around 3,000 years ago, perhaps in the time around King Tut's 9-year reign. The remarkable similarities between the famous boy-king and this young pharaoh are astonishing to both renowned Egyptologists as well as the general public." Terry, the reporter, grinned.

"And with that, we leave you—" Alice began again, the screen showing the tomb minimizing to a small square near her head. Moments later, however, the screen maximized again to show a frenzied crowd, reporters confusedly milling about, and Terry.

"Oh my God—goodness!" Terry began, just catching himself before he offended any non-religious viewers. "Professor Actwin—" he began. The screen showed the Egyptologist gasping for breath, hands to his throat, as his eyes were widened in surprise. The previously dignified people were now frantically trying to get hold of medical help.

"The—" Professor Actwin gasped, staggering closer to the screen, and the now panicking Terry.

"It's the—the curse…" he breathed out. "Curse of the…_Pharaoh..._" Then the professor's eyes rolled up in his head, and his body fell.

At this point, several people were screaming, and the reporters were doing everything but reporting. However, the cameras were still on, despite the fact that some of less strongly willed cameramen had deserted. Someone leaned over the professor's prone form, and felt for breath or pulse.

"Oh my god—he's dead! The professor's DEAD!" the woman shrieked when she couldn't find a pulse or heartbeat. With this new proclamation, the people went wild. Several were running away from the evacuation site, although there was no place to run to, except the desert. Someone screamed for somebody to do CPR on the professor, and someone shouted back that the professor wasn't drowning, he was _dead_.

What had merely begun as a few superstitious, uneasy feeling in the group of people now grew to full-fledged panic. Sure, they had exchanged some jokes when the inscriptions where found, but every mind that was attending knew all about the Carter case so long ago and the mysterious deaths.

"It's the Curse! May the gods forgive us!" One of the natives screamed, and those around him seemed inclined to agree. Modern science and logic dismissed it for superstition, but now that someone had died, everyone automatically thought of the curse again, no doubt what was on Professor Actwin's mind when he died.

"Everyone, please remain calm and stay where you are! I repeat, remain calm, and stay where you are!"

Suddenly, the screen switched back to Alice, who seemed unfazed by the very unprofessional and disturbing live news. "Viewers, clearly we have witnessed a medical emergency. Professor Actwin is a distinguished Egyptologist but he has reportedly had heart problems and no doubt the excitement was too much for him. Egyptian culture was mired in superstition and of course, we have just seen that the pharaohs' legacy has not left our modern society. We'll return to the site of the excavation right after these commercials."

To the disbelief of Yugi, Tea, Seto, and the rest of the watchers, a commercial really did come on. A spoonful of soup replaced the grisly image of the professor's corpse.

"What the heck was that?" Joey yelled in frustration. "Someone just _died _and they go on a commercial break? I can't believe this!" The others more or less echoed his sentiment. He grabbed the remote from Bakura and started frantically switching channels. All of them were on commercial; the reporters probably couldn't deal with the accidental news broadcast of the death. Muttering in disgust, Joey turned back to the original channel.

Yami's crimson eyes were wide with shock. His hands were trembling and clasped tightly in front of him. "…the curse…"

_-What curse!-_ Yugi asked.

"What about the curse?" Bakura asked out loud, unknowingly echoing Yugi. "Didn't you say it was fake?" He was obviously worried about his father.

"The Curse of the Pharaohs. I remember now, I learned it when I was young, from my teacher." Yami's eyes widened in realization. "Each pharaoh has a slight variation of the curse, but all of them basically strike down those entering the tomb. Mine was written when I was very young…'Death shall slay on wings of light those who dare disturb the peace of the pharaoh.' I never believed it until I was twelve, and someone broke into my grandfather's tomb. My father caught him, but he died from the curse before they could do anything."

"Does that mean my father…!" Bakura exclaimed.

"Yes. All those present at my tomb today will die or be struck down—blinded, or such, I think—and all those who disturb the tomb later on will, too." Yami said soberly. He spread his hands in a gesture of supplication, and his whole bearing seemed filled with helpless anger.

"I am sorry. But I have always been taught that nothing can escape the Curse, and it cannot be removed," Yami said in a frustrated tone. "Your father will die, Bakura, unless I can save him. And so will everyone else."

o -

Please see my author's notes at the beginning of the first chapter, they contain some very important information. I'll be updating soon, probably next Saturday.

**Please Review! Thanks!**


	3. By Pharaoh's Will

**Spirit of the Dead**

ElveNDestiNy

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! No copyright infringement intended.

Key:

_-Yugi to Yami-_

_--Yami to Yugi--_

**Chapter 3: By Pharaoh's Will**

Yugi wasn't really sure what to do. In fact, none of them were, and the situation was rapidly spinning out of their control. He supposed that Yami would have to go to Egypt, which meant the rest of them would probably follow. But as Tristan pointed out, they were half a world away from Egypt, and unless they took an airplane there right away, they probably couldn't do much about Yami's body getting 'cut up and displayed in a museum,' as Joey so crudely put it.

Unless Yami went to Egypt and somehow fixed all this, though, more people would die—including Bakura's father. The Curse would have been a necessary thing, he supposed, to keep tomb robbers and such out, but now it was killing innocent people. People that didn't mean to desecrate the Pharaoh's grave and were just searching for knowledge. It was time to get help, Yugi decided. Without saying anything, he ran out of the room and rushed up the stairs to get his grandfather. The others broke off their discussion and Joey started after him.

"I'm just going to get Grandpa," Yugi called from the top of the stairs. "We've got to get help." Joey hesitated, and Yami definitely didn't feel happy about it, but no one made a move to stop him.

The bedroom door opened before Yugi got there, and Solomon Motou came out. "What is it, Yugi?"

Yugi tried to tell him, but it came out in a rush, so his grandfather came down, and they explained the whole deal to him. His eyes widened when they told him about the curse and how someone had already died. Surprisingly enough, the news program still wasn't back, and none of the other channels were either. Joey nearly broke the TV screen with in his frustration.

"What are we going to do, Grandpa?" Yugi finally finished. "Bakura's father's out there and so are all these important people, and if they all start dying, I have no idea what they'll do to the tomb, and how that's going to affect Yami, and—"

"One thing at a time, Yugi," his grandpa said. "How do you know that this curse is real?"

"Grandpa! Professor Actwin _died _while we were watching!"

"But you said yourself that the news reporter mentioned he had a weak heart. This is the discovery of a lifetime and it _is _possible that the excitement was just too much for him."

"But Yami remembers it too! What if people think it's just superstitious nonsense and more people die?"

"All right, Yugi, I do believe you." His grandfather tiredly ran his hands through his unruly hair and sighed. "I just want you to be sure. It's obvious we're going to go to Egypt, though I'm not sure how we're going to do _that_, and we'll have to get pass the security around the tomb. Obviously, we can't start telling people what the curse is—either they won't believe us, and more people will start dying, or they _will_ believe us, and probably wreck the tomb."

"Okay, we'll meet you there in thirty minutes," Seto said into the sudden silence, as everyone tried hard not to look at Yami. They gratefully turned to direct their stare at him. He closed the silver and blue cell phone in his hand with a snap, and turned back to them. He looked at them and sighed in exasperation. "The car will be here in about five minutes to pick us up. We're going to the Domino Airport."

"Airport? Kaiba, what do you mean?" Yugi asked. His grandpa wasn't very pleased that Seto Kaiba was here, but someone with a lot of money and connections could probably help them a great deal right now—that is, if he felt like it.

"I've got tickets on the next plane to El Minya, and it's leaving in about an hour. Be grateful. There's only a flight every two days, and as it is we'll have to switch planes at Cairo."

"El Minya? Where are you taking us, Kaiba?" Solomon Motou asked suspiciously, as Kaiba walked to the front door and opened it.

Seto sighed, exasperated. "That's were the tomb is, of course. El Minya, Egypt. Now will you all please come along? The car's here, and we don't want to miss our flight."

There _was_ a silver car on the curb in front of the game shop, and they looked at each other. "Wait a minute, we're just going to go to _Egypt_, as in, right _now,_ with no luggage or anything like that?" Tristan said.

"We can get whatever we need over there. Although I'm not sure why I'm letting you guys," Seto's eyes turned to Joey, Tea, and Tristan, "come along. Let's go."

Yugi wasn't about to let the chance pass. He opened the car door and slid in. There were only four seats available, and eight people were going. He didn't see how they would all fit, until another car came up, and Tea, Tristan, Bakura, and Joey went in that one. Seto took the passenger seat and Yami sat between Yugi and Grandpa.

On the ride there, Yugi kept on looking at Yami. His dark half was so thin that he sat in the middle seat without touching either Yugi on his left, or Grandpa on his right. Though since he was still sort of insubstantial, it was a moot point. Yami's eyes were closed and he didn't move, but the rigid, stiff way he sat told Yugi that he was definitely awake, and probably thinking. On the other side, Grandpa seemed to be taking everything in stride, and even looked like he was looking forward to the trip to Egypt.

_-Yami…?- _Yugi tried tentatively. -_Are you okay with all of this?-_

_--Aibou, are we going to Egypt on an airplane?-- _

Yugi didn't miss the fact that Yami was avoiding the question, but he suddenly realized that Yami probably didn't know what they were doing, either. _–Yes,- _he replyed, remembering why Yami was concerned.

Well, he _wasn't _really used to this new world after all, and he wasn't all that fond of airplanes, either. Yami had a little phobia about being thousands of feet above the ground…it was actually a little funny that the fearless spirit was unnerved by modern technology even as he was fascinated by it.

_-I'm sure Kaiba got the best,- _he reassured Yami. _–You can stay in your soul room during the ride there. I'll probably be sleeping. Yami, why is it that the others can see you now?-_

_--I don't know. Maybe it has something to do with the, discovery.-- _The brief pause worried Yugi but when he looked over, Yami had on his game face and nothing about him suggested his inner turmoil.

The other car was right behind them, so they regrouped as soon as they got out. It was noisy and crowded with people as all airports are, but Seto managed to get them through all the right places and onto the plane in a relatively short time. He had his laptop and a small suitcase.

"What about Mokuba?" Yugi asked as they picked their seats. The plane was already mostly full, and he ended up with Kaiba on his right and his Grandpa on his left. Yami had returned to the Puzzle so that his slightly transparent appearance wouldn't shock anyone into thinking he was a ghost or anything. Tea, Tristan, Ryou, and Joey had seats nearby, too.

"He'll stay at a friend's house. If this…business…at Egypt takes a long time, he'll probably join us later this week."

The flight was relatively uneventful. At first they tried to plan out what they would do when they got there, but it was impossible. Each time they only got to the point where they were allowed in the tomb. What then? Yami had said that he was taught that nothing could remove or break the curse, but then, he _was _the spirit of the body, and that might have something to do with it.

It was a twelve-hour flight and there was nothing he could do, so Yugi settled down and tried to sleep. In his soul room, his yami drew him close and held him loosely, as if he were a child, letting him lean against his shoulder. Yugi wondered sleepily if it was for his own comfort, or if Yami just wanted to hold on to something.

The airport was noisy and crowded, and it seemed that every reporter in the world was there. No network or newspaper wanted to miss out on now-guaranteed front page story. The sound of human voices and the press of bodies was overwhelming as people spoke in at least a dozen different languages. Yugi was relieved when he saw Kaiba calmly make his way over to the head of the long line they were waiting in. He didn't see what Seto did, but the person waved them through to a special line, looking decidedly pale. Normally, the violet-eyed boy would have objected to Kaiba's use of threats, but he couldn't argue their effectiveness now.

For all that Kaiba was only a few years older than them, he seemed to always give off the impression of wealth and power. Normally people would find it absolutely ridiculous to face a supposed CEO who was around the same age as their own kids. Kaiba somehow made it work, and work well.

It was almost sunrise when they checked in to a rather small, local motel. El Minya wasn't a very attractive place for tourists, not with Cairo nearby. There was only one major hotel, and every room was booked. Kaiba wasn't pleased, but it was the best he could do. Thankfully, his people had already attained for them a car that looked like a cross between a jeep and a truck. It was dark by the time everything was settled even though they had very little luggage, saving them time.

Seto had gotten them three rooms, which meant three to a room. Yugi was surprised when the normally aloof teen agreed to share with one with him and Yami. The others sorted themselves out, and plopped down on the beds, tired out from the events of the day.

"Well, I'll see what I can find out about today, and then tonight it's all up to Bakura to get us in. I'm sure the security will be tight."

Ryou smiled, at peace with his yami. "Yami's excited. I think he misses his tomb-robbing days."

Besides Yugi, Yami stiffened. "It was for those like him that the curses were developed and set into place."

"But Yami, how did Bakura manage to get around the curses before?" Yugi asked.

The Millennium Ring around Ryou's neck began to glow, and everyone in the room closed their eyes to a blinding flash of light as Yami Bakura stepped out, more transparent-y than Yami.

"Not everyone could afford the spells," he said, shrugging gracefully. "Especially since each spell had to be unique. True, they were all variations, but it takes skill to bind the spell so that it does not fade after time. Besides, where there are curses, there are counter spells."

Bakura looked at Yami with a challenging glint in his eyes. "And of course, I found out something when I was young that would become extremely useful to me later on. The curses don't affect monsters from the Shadow Realm—at least, all the tomb's _I've _robbed. As long as you are strong enough to control them and will them to do your bidding, they make the perfect thieves."

Yami's head came up, and he glared at the spirit of the ring with undisguised fury. Looking at his yami, Yugi couldn't help but think that Bakura should have known better than to be playing games when Yami was already so edgy.

Seto's hand went out to Yami's arm, though, surprising them all again as he prevented his rival from doing anything rash. He was certainly showing a different side of the usually callous, sarcastic, and arrogant youth today.

"We have no time for childish fights," he said, the more familiar sardonic tone leaking into his voice again. Both Bakura and Yami bristled.

/Yami, please don't, not now./ Yugi pleaded. He got no response.

"Get some rest, all of you. We can discuss this a little later when we wake." Kaiba made it a command, but no one contested his order.

x x x x x

Yugi thought he was dreaming at first, but then realized he was sitting on the bed inside of his soul room. Some soft golden-white light bathed the room, chasing away the shadows, yet the source of the light was uncertain. His soul room always smelled faintly of something sweet, like vanilla, but the scent was faint and nearly unnoticeable. He smiled, looking around at the familiar and beloved sights. He walked to the door and opened it, walking to steps forward to knock on the door directly opposite of his own.

Soft footsteps, then the door opened and his yami smiled at him. Yami was taller than Yugi, almost by a full half foot. Even so, he was by no means tall—merely a little shorter than average.

"How are you feeling, Yami?" Yugi asked. In the soul rooms, they spoke with a sort of mixture between thought and normal speech. They could feel each other's moods and feelings, like they were bonded.

"I'm not quite sure what to think, aibou," Yami said. "This…it's all been a surprise to me. I only know that I don't want more people to die."

"Of course, Yami. It's not your fault that the curse is killing people, though. Don't blame yourself for it."

"At the same time though…I don't know what to feel." His voice became hesitant, almost tentative. "I've never hidden what I am from you, Yugi. I'm a spirit, I'm not quite…mortal, but not a ghost, either. I found that I could make a separate body from you, but I'm not…real. I can't _live_."

"Yami," Yugi breathed. He drew his dark guardian towards him and hugged him gently. "That doesn't mean anything, it doesn't change anything."

"Maybe," came the cryptic reply. "I've never had such a truth in front of me before. I don't know how I will—what I'll think—when I see myself. What am I supposed to do when the moment of my death is displayed for everyone to see? How can I face my own," he choked at the word, "corpse?"

Yugi said nothing, having no answer, and for a while the room was silent.

"I think what frightens me more is that they'll desecrate the place my loved ones built in my name, that my mortal body will be nothing more than a oddity, some curiosity for people to come and look at."

"Yami, you won't be. We won't let it. Kaiba…he can help us."

"If he will help us. He hates me."

"I don't think so. And I know you don't hate him, Yami, you don't hide it that well. I think you care about what Kaiba thinks about you."

Yami shifted restlessly, unwilling to talk about it, so he returned to what he had been explaining. "In some part of me I am _glad_ that they are dying for they're doing. I'm glad that the gods serve justice for breaking one of our most sacred laws. You don't understand, Yugi, how this is. If this were Egypt…" his voice trailed off.

"…if this were Egypt as I have known it, then the penalty they would pay for such an offense is three days' torturing, then death. The body would be burned, barred from the afterlife, and the _ka,_ the spirit, would wander the land of Egypt, homeless and without offerings, outcast even in death. It was Pharaoh's justice, Pharaoh's will. _My _will." Yami's voice slowed; he sounded distressed.

Yugi hugged him harder, feeling some of the mental anguish his protector was feeling. Yami turned to him and looked down into the wild crimson, gold, and black hair, but his mind was far away.

"…Some part of me rejoices that they should know the might of Egypt, the wrath of the gods who look over their own. This is my world that they're destroying as they try to uncover the past."

"They don't mean to do it, Yami."

"I know they don't. But…in Egypt, beautiful Egypt, they say that the royal family has the blood of the gods running through their veins. Pharaoh was the son of Amun-Re, chosen to be a vessel of the gods. To serve, and to protect; to rule the people and to be ruled by the land of Egypt. So I wish, a little, that those people will experience a little bit of the harm they have done, and I…some part of me doesn't want to remove the curse."

"Yami!" Yugi gasped. "But…you must! Those people are dying!" His arms fell away from Yami and he backed away a step or two.

His dark smiled tiredly, briefly closing eyes the color of sunlight sparkling through a ruby. "Even _you _turn from me, and of course you would. There is darkness in my heart."

"No, I didn't mean—" Yugi started. Yami touched a finger to his aibou's lips. They both sat down on his bed, Yugi cuddling up next to him, grateful for the protecting presence beside him. Yami continued.

"It's all right. I know that it's wrong and that in this age they dismiss the civilizations of old, and see us only as exotic barbarians." He laughed, the sound sharp and derisive. "If only they realize that it's _they _who are the barbarians, entering that which is not theirs and having no respect for the dead in their ever-greedy quests."

He gently extricated himself from Yugi's embrace and stood from the bed. "Kaiba is right, though never tell him I said that." He smiled wryly. "You need rest, and I need time to sort out these thoughts." He looked at Yugi with the amusement of an older sibling caring for a younger child. "You may have the bed, if you don't wish to go back to your own soul room."

Yugi nodded, feeling exhausted already. He lay back down on the black silk sheets of the bed, closing his eyes to rest them. The familiar scent of his yami's soul room, a mysterious yet heady mix of cinnamon and the rich flavor of dark chocolate, slowly lulled him to sleep.

Yami looked at his aibou, the very picture of innocence and naivety, and hoped the world would not destroy such a strong spirit, that life would not wear down on the tremendous amount of courage in such a small body.

He was about to go explore the passages of his soul room in hopes that he could find some more answers to his past when a sharp pain drove like a dagger into his heart. He dropped to his knees, gasping at the sudden pain. It felt as if there was a knife in his chest; his slender torso was afire with pain. He curled into a ball in the corner of the room where the two walls and floor met. Gritting his teeth, and closing his eyes, he tried not to cry out and alarm Yugi.

A new wave of pain hit him, crushed him, and his eyes flew open glittering with tears of pain.

_--What…?--_ His mind wondered in a haze, too disoriented to block off his bond with Yugi. Some part of him quickly realized that Yugi would share his pain through their link, and he struggled to put a barrier between himself and his hikari. The pain faded again, leaving him trembling and breath coming in small gasps.

What was happening to him? Yami bit down on his lip as the pain struck like a knife twisting in him. The coppery sweet-salty taste of blood filled his mouth.

Something to do with the tomb, he realized. It had to be. But what?

o -

**Please review! Thanks so much...**


	4. Inner Sanctum

**Spirit of the Dead**

ElveNDestiNy

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! No copyright infringement intended.

Key:

_-Yugi to Yami-_

_--Yami to Yugi—_

**Chapter 4: Inner Sanctum**

Yugi woke instantly, wondering what had disturbed him from his sleep. To his horror, Yami was on the floor before him, huddled in fetal position in the corner of the chamber.

"Yami!" he cried and ran over to his dark half. His forehead was sheened with sweat and Yugi touched him before he could think about it. Immediately he drew his hand away; Yami was hot, almost burning. Yami looked up at him, wine-dark crimson eyes huge and unfocused. He tried to smile reassuringly up at his aibou, but he could tell it was not working. Everything seemed misty to him and the colors around him bled into one another.

"It's all right, Yugi," he started to say. The pain slammed into him again, hard, and he screamed, unable to control himself. He had a sudden vision of a golden sarcophagus, his likeness etched in fine detail, visage as cold as the electrum metal. Yugi gasped, sharing the visualization, and Yami tried to look at Yugi. A red haze obscured his vision, the pain was white-hot, almost numbing.

"YAMI!" Yugi cried. His dark half closed his eyes and his slender, lithe body became limp in his aibou's arms.

"Grandpa! Kaiba! Someone—help me!" Yugi yelled as loud as he could. He struggled to sustain Yami's weight; though Yami was slender, he was muscular and weighed more than he looked. He gasped again when he realized that Yami _had _weight and that his body looked real and solid. Yugi's surprise quickly turned to panic, though, when he realized that Yami's longer form was hard for him to handle and that he was slipping from his grasp, to the floor. What if his head hit the ground or something?

"KAIBA!" he yelled again, terrified for Yami. At last his former rival was there, helping him lower Yami gently to the floor.

"What happened?" Kaiba snapped out.

"Y-Yami…he just collapsed, I felt the pain…" Yugi stammered out, overwhelmed. "We have to do something to help him, he has this awful fever—"

"Pull yourself together, will you?" Kaiba retorted, the challenge in his voice making Yugi take some deep breaths and sit up straighter. "All right, I'm going to wake the others and get some water for Yami. Stay here with him." Kaiba left the room and Yugi felt tears come to his eyes as he looked at his yami. Then he cursed himself for being so weak.

He didn't wait for long, though. Grandpa came running in, and soon after, the rest of the crowd came flooding in through the door.

"What's wrong, Yugi? Kaiba came in and woke us, said there was something up with Yami." Tea said, eyes wide to see Yami lying prone on the ground.

"I don't know, I felt this incredible pain and woke up, but Yami was already like this, and he's burning up—feel his forehead, he has a fever!"

Ryou reached out before he remembered that no one could touch Yami, but his hand touched the burning forehead and he drew back in surprise, as much from the fact that he'd touched anything than from the fact that Yami had such a high fever.

"I can _touch _him, Yami has his own body. What's going on, Yugi?"

"I don't KNOW!" Yugi yelled, frustrated. "What if he's dying because they opened his tomb?"

A door slammed outside and Yugi quivered with shock. Two raised voices were yelling at each other in the hall.

"Who do you think you are, disturbing me in the middle of the night?"

"Listen up, I'll only say this once. Bring me a glass of cold water NOW." The voice was caustic, so cold it almost sounded cruel. It was Seto Kaiba, of course, sounding like his normal self. Somehow it vaguely reassured Yugi. The world was going to be all right after all, if Kaiba hadn't turned, well, _nice _or anything.

"I don't care if the world is ending or if you've just found a Van Gogh painting, I want that glass of water now, and you better bring it!" Tea looked at Yugi while he stared back, wincing at how loud Kaiba was. He could really yell when he felt like it.

The man muttered a string of insults in heavily accented English but left. Moments later, Kaiba opened the door and came in with a towel and cold water. Yugi's grandfather took it from him and quickly bathed Yami's face. A bit of blood had come out of the corner of his mouth and he was burning with fever.

"No reliable doctors here, and even if there were, we couldn't get there," Kaiba growled.

At the touch of the cold water, Yami let out a low moan, obviously in pain. His ruby eyes opened but he looked at them in confusion. A string of incomprehensible words poured out of his mouth. They stared blankly at him, and then at each other. If it was Egyptian, it certainly wasn't the Egyptian that was spoken in modern times.

_-Yami!-_ Yugi pleaded. _-Are you all right?-_

"The tomb," Yami said slowly, as if the words came to him with difficulty. "We have to go there, they're doing something to it. It's hurting me and I have to stop the curse. I can feel it, someone else's died…I think it's that reporter we watched, Trevor or Terry or something."

At his words, Yugi paled and Joey put a steadying hand on his shoulder. As usual, Seto was one step ahead, dialing away on his cell phone.

"All right, quick change of plans," he said. "Yami, do you feel up to going out to the tomb?"

"Now?" Yugi protested. "He can't, the fever! And he's coughing blood! What if he dies?"

"_Now_ is quite possibly the only time. Once daylight has returned, there'll be even more people, and you have to remember that more people are dying as we wait. Yami said so himself. Who knows what they'll do to the tomb, and what will happen to Yami because of it?" Kaiba stated calmly. He looked at Yami and bit his lip, as if he wanted to say something else.

"Yes, I can," Yami returned, seeming to feel a little better. Maybe it was that he was in the presence of Kaiba, who was, after all, still a rival, however much he might be helping them out right now.

"We've got the jeep-van thing. It has five seats, so not all of us can go. Yami goes, of course, and he'll need a seat now that he's like this," Kaiba said.

"I don't think he can return to his soul room," Yugi said, violet eyes huge with worry.

"…so Yugi, Yami, and myself will go, but the Egyptian driver will take up one seat, so there's only one see left." He looked at Yugi's grandpa and at Bakura. "Well?"

"You'll need me," Bakura said with a deadly smile. "I'm experienced, and after all, you don't want the old man hurt. It'd be a wonder if he can keep up." He smirked at Solomon and Yugi stepped forward, worried and thus angry enough that he seemed about ready to hit someone, especially since Bakura was provoking him.

"Fine, whatever," Kaiba said.

"Hey wait, I'm going with you, Yuge!" Joey protested

"No puppies allowed," Kaiba said with a smirk. He turned serious, though, when he looked at Yami. "And no time to waste, either."

"It's not fair that Bakura and Ryou only take up one seat," Joey said. Everyone glared at him until he held up his hands as if to ward them off.

"Look, we have no time for talking. Téa, Tristan, keep watching the news for anything and use the room phone to call my cell phone number if anything happens. They probably aren't continuing the excavation in the dark and unless they're switching teams, they must be tired. But security will be like you won't believe."

"You _can _get us in, though, right, Kaiba?" Yugi pressed.

"Don't bet on it."

Yugi tried to help Yami walk, but he was too short, and Yami too weak. Kaiba rolled his eyes at their attempts and looked at Bakura, who gave him an expression of disbelief.

"Help him yourself, rich boy."

"Whatever." Kaiba looked at Yami, who looked back with a stunned expression like a deer caught in headlights. "At least you can be sure I'm not going to drop you."

"Drop me?" The implication took a few minutes to sink in before Yami's furious denial rang out. "You're not going to be carrying me _anywhere_, Kaiba!"

It would have been funny to see Yami's rival willing to doing so much for him, if not for the seriousness of the situation. As it was, Joey had the inane thought that he should snap a couple of photos of this, to use if he ever needed to blackmail Kaiba later.

"Just shut up, will you? It's not like you can walk." Just then, another bolt of pain had Yami crumpling to the ground, only half conscious. Kaiba took the opportunity to scoop him up in his arms and tried hard not to think about what he was doing, or that Yami's head was leaning against his chest.

"…I can hear your heartbeat," Yami said, like he didn't know he said it out loud.

"_WHAT?_" Kaiba yelped, his voice changing interestingly in range. Furious color burned in his cheeks but after that surprised outburst Kaiba composed himself with some difficulty and stoically carried Yami the rest of the way outside. Yugi and Bakura followed with almost comical twin expressions of disbelief at the exchange they'd overheard.

"Seems like the Pharaoh has something for Kaiba," Bakura smirked. He looked at Yugi. "Just like the good old days, eh? At least Kaiba's wardrobe has improved since then, though I guess a trench coat isn't too different from his High Priest robes."

Yugi chose not to comment, whether from surprise at _that _new piece of information, or just because he didn't want Bakura to know he was getting on his nerves. At the jeep, Bakura climbed into the front seat and refused to get out even under Kaiba's threats. Kaiba didn't want to waste time so he conceded. Yugi hurried to open to the door and Kaiba unceremoniously dumped Yami in the middle seat, as if to say, _see, you were an unwanted burden_.

But the rough movement had Yami gritting his teeth in pain and the next moment, his eyes opened wide and blind at another wave of agony. Kaiba rushed into the car, guilt all over his face, but there was nothing he could do except hover protectively. Angry at himself and not taking too much time to think about why—whether because he'd caused Yami's pain or because he actually felt _guilty_ having done so—Kaiba barked orders to the Egyptian driver as Yugi climbed in on the other side.

He grabbed his dark's hand, watching Yami's crimson eyes focus on him again, his face pale. "Yami…" Yugi whispered. _–Let me share the pain?- _

_--No.--_ Yami sent back faintly. His eyes fluttered shut and he fell into unconsciousness again.

Kaiba swore as Yami went limp and told the driver to drive faster. For a stuck up CEO prodigy, he had a big vocabulary of swear words. Bakura sat in the front passenger seat, impressed as Kaiba switched to French and continued cursing. There was no 'road' as they knew it; it was all rock and sand terrain, and the car bounced over what seemed like every single rock between the motel and the site of the excavation, eliciting sounds of pain from Yami.

_--Yugi?-- _

He looked quickly at Yami, who had opened his eyes.

_--Too many people will die. You have to stop it, no matter what.--_

_-Of course we will, Yami,-_ Yugi tried to reassure him, but sounding as though he rather needed some reassurance himself.

There was no more time for talk. The friends could see that up ahead there was a large ring of trucks and other vehicles.

"The reporters are still there and so is the security," Kaiba said, back to his usual expressionless manner. It was kind of a relief to see him normal again.

"How are we going to get in?" Yugi asked.

"Easily." The answer came from Bakura, who had been quiet and had sat in the passanger seat so they had completely forgotten he was there. The millennium ring around his neck glowed faintly, the shape distinct even under his shirt.

"I fail to see how this would be easy," Kaiba said sardonically, voice tinged with annoyance. His intense blue eyes fixed on Bakura. He was all right with Ryou, although Kaiba was scornful of his meekness. For some reason, Kaiba was dead set against Bakura. Something about the ring's spirit provoked the worst in Kaiba, kind of like one type of predator recognizing another when they were out to get the same prey.

In response, Bakura only opened the car door and stepped out. "Coming?" he asked Kaiba mockingly. Yugi saw the ice in Kaiba's eyes and thought about warning Bakura that teasing Kaiba wasn't all that smart. Then he looked at Bakura and decided that the spirit knew exactly what he was doing.

They got out of the jeep in plain sight and followed Bakura as he ducked under the yellow security tape with 'Do Not Cross' in big black letters. By all rights, there should have been a bunch of people trying to stop them right there. A couple of security guards in tan uniforms looked right past them as if they didn't exist.

"Creepy," Joey muttered. "What'd Bakura do?"

The white-haired spirit smiled fiendishly at the tall blond teenager, who recoiled. "Got ya," Joey said under his breath. "No questions asked. Nada."

Yugi almost screamed when he turned around and found Joey right behind him. "What are you doing here?"

"I tag-rode," Joey said with a proud smile. "That's what Jeeps are all about, aren't they? Why they're so popular for guerillas…just hang on, and you've got yourself a ride. Besides, I couldn't let you come alone, Yuge."

"Oh gods, not _you,"_ Kaiba growled when he saw Joey, but there was little he could do about it. Yami seemed to be feeling better, because he walked on his own now with only a little help from Yugi and Kaiba. It wasn't hard for them to find the direction of the main excavation entrance; light shone all around even though the sun had not yet risen.

Suddenly, a woman screamed. Bakura broke into a run and the others did as well for a few moments until they realized that Yami wasn't with them.

Yami was on the ground, doubled up with pain. Across the excavation site, they could still hear the woman's ear-splitting screams.

"What's wrong?" Yugi asked, echoed by the others. They formed a helpless circle around Yami's pained form.

Bakura reached down and roughly pulled Yami up to his knees.

"What the heck are you doing?" Joey growled. "You're hurting him!"

Bakura muttering some choice Kaiba-like insults that had Joey turning red with fury. "Fools! Don't stand around, help me! We have to carry him. I can't keep this up forever!" Whatever Shadow Realm magic Bakura was using to veil them was taking a toll on the tomb robber. His hair seemed to glow angrily with a platinum light of its own and it moved as if there were wind blowing on it.

They helped him until he was carrying Yami, piggyback style. He hissed when the millennium puzzle around Yami's neck got trapped between their bodies and the sharp edges dug into his back. Yami let out a gasp of pain. Yugi quickly grabbed the puzzle and switched it around so that it hung over Yami's shoulder, lopsidedly. Bakura staggered under the weight, being built on rather slender lines himself.

"Run for it," he said, leading the way.

_-Yami?-_ Yugi asked as he ran.

_--Yes, Yugi…?--_

_-We'll find a way to stop this, I promise. Just…just don't give up, all right?- _

_--I never do, aibou.--_ And it was so true. Yami had never backed down from a fight. It was funny how their positions were reversed. It was always Yugi needing Yami, needing his protection, his strength, his assurance and self-confidence. Yet sometimes the teacher needed to learn from the student as well.

It was hard for them to break through the crowds of people. A woman that was on the excavation team was lying on the floor, hands cupping her head and covering her eyes. There was total chaos around her as people crowded in a tight circle.

Light blinded them as picture after picture was taken, and the sound of the reporters voices all blended together cacophonously. She was the one who had been screaming, but now her screams had subsided to moans. "I can't see," she said over and over. When one of the medics persuaded her to remove her hands from her eyes, Yugi caught a glimpse of the stark white. No pupils, no irises, nothing but white.

Tearing his eyes away from the horrifying scene, Yugi realized that Bakura had already disappeared down the entrance to the tomb. He hurried to catch up with them.

It was dark and arid underground. Up ahead, Bakura had brought out his ring, which was glowing white and casting flickering light around the passage. Yami's puzzle had responded and was also glowing around his neck.

Yugi was the last in the group, and when he ran towards the light he collided with something hard. The quick exhalation of air and Kaiba's chilly tones quickly told him what he had just run into.

"Sorry," he gasped, then realized that Kaiba still wasn't moving. "What's wrong? You're blocking the tunnel."

Kaiba didn't answer, so Yugi stepped forward again, thinking that he had left. He bumped into him again. Moving around in the half-light, Yugi grabbed Kaiba's hand and pushed him forward.

"Hurry up," Yugi said impatiently. "We're getting behind, and we don't want to be lost here. Yami…"

His voiced trailed off in surprise as he realized the arm beneath his hand was trembling slightly. Yugi would have thought it was merely his imagination, but the tensed muscles under his hand were definitely shaking.

"Uh…" he said, surprised. "Is there anything wrong, Kaiba?" Yugi tried to look around the tall form. "Is there anything wrong with _Yami?_" His voice rose slightly at the end due to his worry.

"Nothing's wrong with Yami," Kaiba said, his voice sounding rougher than normal.

_Then what's wrong? _Yugi thought, not sure if he should ask. In the end, Kaiba moved slowly forward, so Yugi went as well.

He stopped again a few minutes later as they came to the slightly opened doors of the tomb. The thick stone slab that covered the entrance was pivoted slightly so that there was a slight opening about two feet wide and two feet high. Bakura and Joey were trying to go through with Yami. For once, Yugi was happy that he was so small. Being short had its benefits, after all.

Joey and Yami finally through, Bakura disappeared quickly enough. The soft white glow of light from the other end of the opening confirmed that he was there, but the glow began to decrease.

"Bakura?" Yugi asked tremulously.

"Come on through. Joey and I are moving Yami further down. You'll be fine without light."

"Bakura!" Yugi protested, skin crawling as the light diminished even more, so that he could barely see Kaiba even though the young billionaire was right in front of him.

"You want to save Yami, don't you?" Bakura's words drifted back to them. "It's all right, it's a small tunnel and we'll be right in front of you anyway. Yami is slowing us down. It's harder to move him when we're crawling." Within moments, they were in near-complete darkness.

_Why didn't we think to bring light? _Yugi asked himself. It was too late for regrets, though.

"Kaiba, hurry up," he said. "The sooner we get through, the sooner we'll join them again.

Seto, however, wasn't moving anymore. "What the heck is wrong with you?" Yugi hissed, on edge. They were deep in the earth, without light…he vowed to do something horrible to Bakura as soon as they got out of this crazy trip.

"I…" Seto started.

"Hurry up, will you?" Yugi demanded, voice shrill. He winced at how he sounded. "You're blocking the way!"

"I'm claustrophobic…" he whispered.

Yugi almost didn't hear it. Then the words registered. "_What?_"

"My stepfather used to lock me up in the dark…"

"…" Yugi had no idea what to say. On one hand, he was completely surprised that Kaiba was being human for once, and sympathized with him. On the other hand, he wasn't about to be stuck down here without light while his yami was dying—or whatever happened to spirits when they were hurt. For goodness' sake, they were in Egypt, in some rural town somewhere—where the heck was El Minya, anyway—in a pharaoh's tomb, and the pharaoh just happened to be his yami, of all people!

And people were dying from this crazy curse of the pharaohs because they had entered Yami's tomb.

And so they were here, and their leader was none other than another spirit, who was a former _tomb thief _that was helping them probably because he still wanted the Millennium items for himself.

And in front of him, his yami's greatest rival, who was a billionaire and CEO of his own company, was refusing to go through the stupid tunnel because he was _claustrophobic_. Claustrophobic because his own stepfather had locked him in tight, dark, places. Kaiba? No way. He had to be dreaming.

And they were in complete darkness, who knows how deep below the surface of the earth, and if the excavation had disturbed the place enough to trigger a cave in or masses of swarming insects or…all the other scary things that had been in The Mummy, which Yugi was starting to think that he'd watched one two many times due to his excessive love of all things ancient Egyptian.

Yugi started to laugh uncontrollably.

"…Yugi?" Kaiba asked questioningly.

"I…don't b-believe this," he choked out between the laughter racking his body.

"Calm down, Yugi." Over the laughter, Yugi heard Kaiba's movements as he crawled into the tunnel on hands and knees. "Follow me."

To tired to laugh, Yugi gasped for air as he crawled behind Kaiba. "I thought you were claustrophobic?"

"I am." The disembodied voice was strained and hoarse. Yugi realized how hard it must be for Kaiba.

"Sorry. I wasn't laughing at you or anything. I just…it's all so unreal…"

"Yeah. But Yami needs us."

_And that's the big deal, isn't it? _Yugi thought. _Yami needs Kaiba for once in his life and Kaiba for some odd reason is responding to it, almost as if he's worried for Yami, for real. _

It was odd how he was thinking while doing this, as if to distract himself from images of rotting skeletons and bugs and the poisonous gas that he had read that sometimes developed over time in deep underground chambers. Yugi choked down another hysterical giggle. Time was suspended as they crawled through what seemed like an unending tunnel. They collided often with the walls, and in some parts the tunnel was even narrower. It was terrifying to be crawling in the darkness. Yugi could only imagine how much worse it was for Kaiba, who led the way. At least Bakura, Joey, and Yami had already been through here.

_And stirred up the scarabs and spiders and cockroaches to attack us… _Forcing the thought out of his mind, Yugi tried to concentrate, when all of a sudden, Kaiba let out a strangled shriek ahead. Normally, Yugi would have laughed at the notion of Kaiba screaming. All things considered now, though, screaming along with him seemed to be more a more appealing. Good idea, great idea.

"What is it?"

"…Nothing. A spider crawled over my hand."

Spider webs and bugs wouldn't be able to survive, would they?

Yugi cursed his overactive imagination. Remember the time in fifth grade, when he had almost been bitten by a black widow that had landed in his hair…

The earth seemed to press down on them. The tunnel was slanting down, meaning that they were going deeper and deeper into the earth. Just think of all the tons of dirt above them…if it came crashing down and they were buried alive. Or worse yet, if they were trapped down here but weren't immediately killed, so they just starved to death or died from lack of oxygen.

It was definitely getting harder to breath. He remembered all the stories of people trapped for weeks after an earthquake.

Sometime after what felt like an hour, Yugi started chanting to himself. _Yami needs my help. Bakura's just down the tunnel. Yami needs my help…_

Kaiba wasn't going to be the only one with claustrophobia when they got out of this. Provided that they got out of this alive. If they didn't die here, trapped.

Yugi wasn't about to start going down _that _path.

Finally, Kaiba stopped.

"What's wrong?" Yugi whispered, getting a sense of deja vu. He wasn't sure why he was whispering. Something about being in the dark and in a narrow tunnel just made you whisper.

"There's light ahead. I think we're near the end."

Yugi could have hugged him for the news. They increased their speed, wincing as the scraped elbows and knees were scraped yet again.

They crawled out into a lighted room.

"Bakura?" Kaiba said, sounding _almost _normal again.

"Over here. We just got here, too. Dragging Yami through the tunnel isn't all that easy." The tomb spirit was smiling almost beatifically.

Yugi saw the reason for his smile a moment later as he crawled through the end of the tunnel and sat there, too tired to move.

Gold, silver, jewels. The light glinted off of treasures all over the room. The stone walls had Egyptian art depicting a pharaoh that looked identical to Yami.

Bakura's eyes gleamed.

"We shouldn't get sidetracked here," Joey drawled as he looked at the former—or perhaps not—tomb robber.

Bakura turned to glare at him, and whatever his expression was, it completely freaked Joey out.

"They must have loved you, pharaoh. Look at all the treasure they left for you to use in the afterlife. Of course, your _ka _is still stuck here, like me," he said to Yami.

Yugi summoned up the last of his energy and walked over to Yami. His legs ached from being in the same cramped position.

"You okay, Yami?"

"It's bearable," Yami replied, looking at his hikari through half-opened eyes. It didn't sound very promising to Yugi.

"Quiet!" Bakura suddenly hissed.

They heard it now, a scrabbling sound. Someone else was in the chamber with them. Yugi realized that the glow of the gold was reflecting off not only Bakura's Millennium Ring, but also normal light.

"Over there!" They ran towards the sound just in time to see a man approach a stone sarcophagus.

The resemblance was unmistakable. It was James, Ryou's father.

"STOP!" Yugi shouted, just as the man who had discovered Yami's tomb shoved open the gold-molded casing of the sarcophagus and revealed the inner pure gold likeness of the pharaoh.

o -

**Please review! **I think this is one of my most heavily edited chapters from before (almost an exact year ago). Anyway, chapter 5 has been written and it's the first of the 'new' chapters, so to speak. I think this story will be around 10 chapters possibly, or that's how it's plotted out right now. Criticism, etc. is all welcome, but do comment please.


	5. Disappear

**Spirit of the Dead**

ElveNDestiNy

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! though I do own the idea for this story, etc.

**Important Notes**: I personally like to use Atem rather than Atemu in my opinion, Atemu makes me think of Japanese and not Ancient Egypt. Hope you don't mind, but even if you do, don't bother flaming about it.

Key:

_-Yugi to Yami-_

_--Yami to Yugi—_

**Chapter 5: Disappear**

"DON'T TOUCH THAT!" Yugi screamed as James Bakura grunted and tried to shift the third, inner sarcophagus to reveal the mummy. The soft golden gleam took on a sinister light as Bakura's Millennium Ring flared, blinding everyone and causing them to throwtheir hands up to shield their eyes.

The Egyptologist looked up, but only momentarily, the intensity of the joy of his discovery clear in his eyes. Before anyone could do anything, he gave one last heave at the gold image of the pharaoh. Remarkably, the sarcophagus, which should have been too heavy to move, slid open with a harsh, grating sound. Then several things happened at once as all hell broke loose in the dark tomb.

Yugi threw himself at Yami, ostensibly trying to cover his eyes so that he wouldn't see his own mummified body. They both tumbled to the floor, Yami with a surprised yelp and Yugi shouting some unintelligible words about protecting him.

Joey grabbed James Bakura and started choking him, yelling that he was killing one of his best friends and that it was all his fault to begin with.

Kaiba ran over to the sarcophagus but tripped over some treasure and ended up falling on his face, whereupon Yugi, who was sitting on top of Yami, started giggling insanely at Kaiba's ungraceful sprawl.

As a result of Kaiba's clumsiness, Bakura beat him to the sarcophagus, looked into it, and then his voice rose over the pandemonium in sheer disbelief.

"IT'S EMPTY!"

"WHAT?" Several voices cried out at once, along with "Tomb robbers!" and "Why would they steal the _mummy_?"

They all rushed over to the sarcophagus, hardly believing their eyes. James Bakura exchanged one surprised look with what he thought was his son, but completely forgot about it when he looked at the empty space that should have contained the mummy.

Yami slumped to the floor besides the sarcophagus, though he didn't cry out, and Yugi dropped to his knees besides him. "What are we going to do now?" Yugi asked in a near-panicked voice. "It's gone. I don't believe it. It's _gone_!"

James seemed to come to his senses and he stared suspiciously at the newcomers. "What are you doing here? This is a secured area! For all I know, you might be the ones who took the pharaoh's mummy!"

The Millennium Ring flashed for a moment and Ryou appeared, smiling and rather noticeably transformed back into the sweet-natured boy he really was. "Dad, I can explain all that. It's going to sound odd to you, but we're really here to warn you and to save Yami. You see, the pharaoh for whom this tomb was built is actually…"

He began a lengthy account of their adventures while Kaiba helped Yami up, Yugi hanging onto his dark's arm as if he would disappear if he happened to let him go. Joey attempted to shoulder Kaiba out of the way and got a sharp smack to the side of his head for his troubles, inciting a brief fight before their concern for Yami made them stop.

"…and so now we really need to find the mummy!" Ryou finally finished. His father seemed a little fazed by it all, but at least he didn't look completely disbelieving.

"Then the superstitions about the Curse of the Pharaohs are true?" He seemed mostly incredulous, but a little worried. "Are you saying that we will all die? This is the inner sanctum of the pharaoh's tomb, so if there is a curse, you all will have it too."

The idea had obviously not occurred to any of them and now it was Yami who was guilt-stricken at the thought that he'd endangered all of them for his own sake.

"But it doesn't make sense!" Yugi exclaimed, frustrated with the impossible situation. "Why would a tome robber take only the mummy and none of the treasure?" He swept an arm out to indicate the precious things that filled the room.

"Unless they knew that the pharaoh who rested here was actually Yami, and wanted him to suffer," Kaiba said slowly into the silence after Yugi's outburst. "Or if they weren't interested in money at all and just wanted to kill him."

"How can we be sure there was a mummy at all?" Yugi suddenly said, rising up and pacing alongside the sarcophagus.

"There had to have been," James Bakura answered, raking a hand through his hair. The frustration in his voice added to his accent. "The tomb is virtually untouched. The Egyptians wouldn't have sealed it like this _without _the mummy."

Yami was listening, but the words obviously weren't registering in his mind. Instead, he had his head turned to the side and was staring intently at the carvings on the sarcophagus. Suddenly his ruby eyes widened and he twisted into a kneeling position so he could look at the hieroglyphs more closely.

"What is it, Yami?" Kaiba stalked over to where his rival was sitting.

"My name," he replied in amazement. Yami raise one hand to trace the gold, as if to make sure it was real. "Atem," he said softly. "I was Atem…" But whatever he was going to say was delayed as he closed his eyes, shoulders shuddering with another wave of pain.

"We have to find the robbers," Yugi said angrily from where he knelt by Yami's side, though the tears in his eyes told everyone how scared he was for his guardian spirit. "But I don't know where we can even start. They must be long gone by now."

"They couldn't have made it very far," Bakura's father interjected. "This excavation has been under the tightest security we could manage. Jonathan and I have been here at all times. I just don't understand! How could they have done this?"

"Dad, we should notify the security at least," Ryou said. "They might still be around here, or they might have temporarily hidden the body somewhere."

"I think it's time to go back to Domino," Kaiba said. "We're just wasting—"

"What? But we can't! Aren't you going to help Yami?" Yugi screeched, so surprised he stood up with his hands clenched into fists at his sides as if he were about to try to pummel Kaiba. One icy blue glare later, Yugi wisely reconsidered.

"I knew it! I knew you were just trying to make Yami even worse off than before!" Joey accused Kaiba.

They both got an unforgiving stare, which at least cut off any further protests. "If you'll let me finish," Kaiba said coldly, "you'll realize that we're only wasting time here. Whoever stole the mummy is probably selling it to the highest bidder on the black market right now, and only my databases in Domino can help us trace the transaction."

"What about my father? What about the curse?" Ryou said into the silence as Yugi, Joey, and Bakura digested the truth of Kaiba's words. "People are dying!"

"The only think I care about right now is Yami," Kaiba snarled, surprising almost everyone. "You can worry about the curse later. Besides, I should have expected you to be too stupid to realize that Yami is probably the only one that can lift the curse, and he can't very well do that as he is right now!"

As if to accentuate Kaiba's point, Yami's eyes fluttered as another spasm of pain shook him. He was curled up on his side and seemed to be hallucinating, if not completely delirious with fever.

"All right, then," Yugi said resolutely, regaining some of his confidence. Then another thought struck him and he frowned. "But what if it takes too long?"

"I'm calling for a Raptor," Kaiba said. Faced with their blank looks, he sighed. "A very small, fast, helicopter from my company. It can only hold two people though, so I'll be going with Yami. The rest of you can follow later."

"Hold on, you can't just make off with Yami. You hate him! How'd we know that you're gonna help him and not drop him off in the middle of the desert somewhere?" Joey came up to them even as Kaiba gently shook Yami's shoulder to wake him up. At the blonde's comment, the young CEO turned around, no doubt to deliver some scathing remark. Right then, however, Yami opened his blood-red eyes, coming out of whatever delirium he had been in.

"I have to go. It's all right, Joey. I trust him." With those simple phrases, he closed his eyes and seemed to have fallen fast asleep, clearly tired but hopefully free of pain. Kaiba wasted no time in taking him and carrying him into the opening of the tomb. Once there, however, he laid Yami down again, unsure of how to get them back out. He looked over to Ryou for guidance, since it had been Bakura that had gotten them here in the first place.

James Bakura stood next to his son, looking a little confused. It was a miracle that he had believed them. Besides, Kaiba wasn't sure himself if he believed all this 'Curse of the Pharaohs' nonsense. Logically, that professor _had _had a bad heart, and therefore he probably just had a heart attack. Kaiba was even familiar with the rumors of a curse surrounding Carter's discovery of King Tut, and he wasn't about to put the slightest bit of faith into it. People died; it was a fact of life. It wasn't because of some curse.

"You got us in here, Bakura, now get us out." Kaiba said curtly. Ryou seemed uncertain; they needed Bakura's expertise and for that, he would have to let his yami take control of his body. But how would his father react to meeting the spirit of the Millennium Ring?

"Dad, there's something I have to tell you," he said in a rush. "The Egyptian artifact you gave me, do you remember it?" He gestured down at the Ring that hung around his neck like some sort of exotic necklace. "The spirit of the a tomb robber was in it. He wasn't friendly at first but he's changed and now I…" He trailed off, unable to explain the complex relationship between yami and hikari.

"Enough with the talk, we don't have much time." Kaiba was already kneeling by the small entrance and Yugi and Joey had gone through before him.

Ryou looked at his father helplessly but his hand came up to clench the Millennium Ring. It gleamed brightly for a moment and then settled back into the glow that had lightened their way. The boy whose soft brown eyes had appealed to his father for understanding was gone; in his place was an ancient spirit, sometimes malevolent, sometimes indifferent, but always working for his own purposes.

James Bakura's mouth dropped open in surprise as he sensed the change in his son. He took a step back, but Bakura had no such hesitation and was already helping the others move Yami's prone form through. They'd made a makeshift cot of sorts and had settled pretty much for dragging him, Kaiba leading and Bakura following. Whatever fear had afflicted the usually confident-to-the-point-of-arrogance CEO was gone and he moved quickly through the tunnels, urging Yugi and Joey in front of him to hurry up.

It had seemed like an eternity when they were descending into the tomb, whereas now they increased their pace with the thought of open air and light aboveground. Ryou's father followed behind them, though perhaps he should have been the first to go because aside from Bakura, he was the only one who had any sort of experience crawling around in dark tombs.

It was with sighs of relief that they emerged from the dark hole of the tomb's passageway. Yugi looked around and saw that the guards still stared right past them as if they didn't exist. They saw Professor Bakura, however, and acknowledged him with nods of their head. If Ryou's father was unnerved by the display of power from the Millennium Ring, he was surprisingly good at concealing it and left the group soon enough. Bakura's Ring glowed all the way back to the truck, where it was abruptly extinguished.

"Well, this is where we part," Kaiba said. "You guys can take the jeep back and tell the other two what's happening. Yami and I will stay here and wait for the 'copter to arrive."

"How long will it take for us to get to Domino after you guys leave?"

Kaiba looked at Yugi with a hint of amusement in his eyes. "Don't worry, your precious pharaoh will be safe with me. You guys will get back to Domino in a day or two. I expect everything to be settled by then."

He gave some orders to the driver of the jeep while the others piled in, Joey no longer having to tag-ride now that Kaiba and Yami's seats were empty. The driver started away before Yugi realized something. Kaiba was very wealthy. Kaiba had access to a lot of technology…

"Why did you have to choose a helicopter with only two seats?" he yelled out. Kaiba completely ignored him. From the seat in front of Yugi, Bakura let out a rather mocking laugh.

"He wants the pharaoh for himself, of course. I _did _mention that they had an interesting relationship back in Egypt, didn't I?"

He smirked when he turned around to face a row of horrified expressions.

x x x x x

Yami woke at the sound of whirring blades slicing through the air. The sky was just beginning to lighten, turning into a rosy canvas of reds, oranges, and yellow, but a black flying object stood out starkly from the lovely picture.

All of a sudden he was airborne and traveling towards the funny-shaped helicopter at an uneven pace. Yami twisted and nearly rolled right out of Kaiba's arms and onto the ground before he realized that he wasn't being kidnapped or anything of the sort. Before he had time to comment on it, Kaiba gracefully jumped aboard the copter and dumped Yami onto the seat rather like an unwanted sack of potatoes. Only this time he wasn't as careful, because Yami's head hit the hard plastic arm of the seat with a dull crack. Deciding he'd had enough, Yami opened his eyes and gave Kaiba his best glare.

He should've known that his effort would've been completely wasted on a cold bastard like Kaiba, who practically made pissing off people his hobby. Kaiba wasn't even looking at him, Yami fumed. He deserved some attention, didn't he? After all, _he _was the one with all the drama here, and Kaiba could've knocked him unconscious by tossing him into the seat like that. So Yami reached out and poked Kaiba hard in the side, eliciting a rather satisfying response from the unwary brunette. Having effectively gained his target's full attention, Yami said as innocently as he could, "So, Kaiba, where are you taking me?"

"To hell," Kaiba grumbled. "I like you better when you're asleep."

"Well…" Yami scrambled for a suitably scathing comeback when Kaiba's phrasing sank in and his mind ground to a halt. _What's _that _supposed to mean!_ Not that he wanted Kaiba to hate him, exactly, but it was just the way it was supposed to be. The way it _was_.

"What's our ETA at Domino City?" Kaiba asked the pilot in the meantime as Yami tried his best to get his thoughts back on track, unnerved by the CEO's unusually non-you're-my-archrival behavior.

"Seventeen and a half hours at our current speed," was the reply. Though unsatisfactory, Kaiba had to be content with it. He turned his attention back to the very silent Yami and wondered if he should be concerned. This was the time when Yami would usually try to convince him about how this was all part of some Ultimate Destiny and magic and whatnot. Instead, Yami's expression was undecipherable.

"Are you all right?" As soon as the words slipped out of his mouth, Kaiba frowned. That was entirely too nice, almost sickeningly so. "I don't plan on wasting my time saving a zombie, you know." Better, but not by much.

"Huh?" Yami twisted his head to look at him and then winced. With a momentary flash of guilt—that he ignored with long practice—Kaiba recalled that the pharaoh had hit his head on the arm of the seat rather hard. A covert glance informed Kaiba that the pharaoh's attention had turned again to the fluffy white clouds seen through the window, as if he were totally uninterested in what Kaiba had to say. He almost felt insulted.

"We're flying above the world," Yami mumbled distantly, but just loud enough for Kaiba to hear. Violet eyes usually narrowed and grim with determination were now wide with an almost childlike awe as they gazed at the sea of clouds the copter was skimming over. "Things have changed so much…"

Until that moment, it had never occurred to Kaiba that the world Yami had known was almost completely gone. For one thing, it had taken a long, long time before the brunette even admitted to himself that Yami was, indeed, a former Egyptian pharaoh. But looking at the wonderment on Yami's face, he thought he knew the reason why his rival hadn't appeared in the world more often when he was still sharing a body with Yugi. How intimidating was it, to face an earth rebuilt with technology and scarred by the work of human hands over thousands of years?

The only things that had survived over time were perhaps emotions: love and hate, friendship and animosity. But all of the beliefs and traditions that Yami must have held dear and put his faith into, as the pharaoh of Egypt, son of Ra—no wonder Yami preferred the solace of the Puzzle, no matter how lonely it might be.

He wondered if Yami still believed in the old gods of Egypt and was suddenly dying with curiosity to find out. There was no way to ask, though, whether someone believed in a faith that had disappeared over time and was now relegated purely to history textbooks forced on the skeptic eyes of modern students.

As he watched, Yami leaned back into his seat with a soft sigh, which turned into a flinch as the back of his head made contact with the seat. "Ra, you just _had _to put me down on my head like that," he muttered, but more dismally than irritably. "Not that you have much practice carrying people around, I'm sure."

His recent thoughts and Yami's words had efficiently guilted Kaiba enough for him to offer, however ungraciously, his assistance. "Here, I'll take a look at it. Hold still."

The oddly coloured hair was much softer than it looked, Kaiba found to his surprise, as he ran his fingers through it, hoping he wouldn't find a bump of anything. In fact, the strands were silky to touch and their seeming natural defiance of the laws of gravity intrigued him. Yami shut his eyes and submitted to being groomed after giving Kaiba another one of those indecipherable looks, this one long and rather pointed, even if Kaiba had apparently missed the point. Those looks were really getting to be irritating. The only one allowed to be perfectly inscrutable was himself, after all.

Finding nothing to worry about, he was about to put some distance between himself and Yami again when he looked down at the much shorter duelist. His head was tilted and resting against Kaiba's arm; Yami was at least half asleep, no doubt exhausted from the pain he'd been forced to endure. He was a warm presence by Kaiba's side and it wasn't uncomfortable, so Kaiba reasoned that it would be cruel to force him awake so that he could fall asleep against the window. Reasoning was a wonderful thing, especially when it meant he wouldn't have to think too much about _why _he felt so content and almost…_satisfied_.

Seventeen and a half hours suddenly seemed like too short of a time.

x x x x x

A/N:**Please review! **For my completed SxYY story, look for Winter Rhapsody.


	6. Alone Together

**Spirit of the Dead**

ElveNDestiNy

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! No copyright infringement intended.

Key:

_-Yugi to Yami-_

_--Yami to Yugi—_

**Chapter 6: Alone Together**

There was something stroking his hair, fingers running through the spiky but soft strands. But it felt strange, since it didn't feel like Yugi, exactly, and Yugi was the only one able to touch him. Even then, touching was only possible in their soul rooms. He hadn't realized how much he'd missed that basic human connection until now. It felt good, although he almost felt that he was being petted, and things were comfortably warm. It was also odd; there was a sense of movement but it was surely too smooth, and his head was resting against something warm and solid, too.

The hand in his hair ceased its motions and Yami was forced to open one tired, bleary eye to see what the matter was. He found fine white fabric beneath his cheek and with a grumble, opened the other eye. Where was Yugi? Come to think of it, he didn't notice Yugi's familiar vanilla-like scent, either.

Gradually he realized the soft, even breathing he heard was not his own. Lifting his head so that the limp hand fell away, Yami choked back a gasp of surprise.

"K-Kaiba?" Thankfully the brunette didn't wake to his incredulous query. Yami leaned closer and peered cautiously at his once rival's face. Sleeping, Kaiba looked alarmingly defenseless and human, not cold or proud as he was when awake. Sometimes it was hard to remember that he was only a teenager like themselves, when he had so much authority and money at his disposal, and especially since he never acted his actual age. Yami was startled to see that asleep, Kaiba seemed much less intimidating and didn't provoke the usual mix of aggravation in Yami that he did when awake.

At first, he thought the weight on his hip was the result of a seat belt like the one he had worn on the earlier flight with Yugi. It took a moment for Yami to realize incredulously that Kaiba's other hand was on his hip, and that was because his arm was wrapped loosely around Yami's waist. When he did, Yami turned an interesting shade of red that he was glad no one was around to see. What was Kaiba thinking?

After a few moments of thinking, Yami gingerly took Kaiba's hand in his own, trying to move it off him, all along acutely aware about how terrible it would be if Kaiba woke up and saw their current position—never mind that it was almost certainly his fault in the first place, since he'd been the one moving around in his sleep. It was hard for Yami to even breathe normally; he was so close to Kaiba as to be able to hear his heartbeat, and he couldn't deny that the whole experience was sending tiny thrills of something—alarm, but it was just possible that it was delight as well—through his body.

Still wrong for them to be like this, of course, but since Kaiba was resisting all movement in his sleep, Yami had little choice. Deciding that it was absolutely not a good idea to use Kaiba as a pillow, at the very least, Yami carefully raised his head.

"Mmngh," Kaiba mumbled, nearly stopping Yami's heart. The arm wrapped loosely around Yami's waist was suddenly exerting considerably more pressure than before, and Kaiba's hand cupped the curve of Yami's hip. Yami froze, but it was too late.

Kaiba blinked a few times before he looked down questioningly at the aberrational weight on his chest, finding himself almost nose to nose with Yami. A brief silence ensued, as Yami forgot what it meant to breathe.

"Feeling better?" Kaiba murmured, as Yami waited for some kind of reaction and for the disentanglement of their limbs. At the question, alarm spurred Yami's limbs at last. He jerked up, accidentally hitting his head on Kaiba's chin, and almost tumbled out of his seat entirely as he scrambled to put some distance between them. Why was he always so clumsy around Kaiba?

After a moment, Kaiba retrieved his arm, carefully not touching Yami any more than he already had, and making a pretense of looking at his watch. There was no further comment on how they had ended up together, though Yami imagined that the blue eyes that finally met his were a little colder than normal. Surely it was only his imagination.

He tried to ignore the vague feeling of guilt Kaiba's eyes mysteriously induced, and then tried even harder to ignore the awkward silence between them. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught the most bizarre look he'd yet seen to grace Kaiba's normally expressionless countenance, something he could only describe as perplexity.

"Mr. Kaiba?" Yami looked around wildly before realizing that they were hearing the pilot's voice, and then wondered how foolish he must have looked in Kaiba. Thankfully, Kaiba's attention didn't seem to have been on him. "We'll be landing at the Domino International Airport shortly. Are there any arrangements to be made?"

"Arrange for a car to bring us to the Domino City Museum," Kaiba said brusquely.

"M-Mr. Kaiba. It is currently 2:21 in the morning and the museum will be closed." It seemed very difficult for the pilot to point out that very obvious fact. Yami turned curious crimson eyes to Kaiba, wondering what he was going to do, especially since he didn't seem to be in the best of tempers.

"Get me the number of one of the museum curators. Her name is Isis Ishtar and she is the Secretary General of the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities. I want her personal number, understand?"

"Yes, Mr. Kaiba."

"I want it _before _we arrive."

"We'll do our best," was the anxious answer.

Yami turned to Kaiba, intending to ask what they were going to do but also a little wary of disturbing the brunette. He closed his mouth abruptly when glacial eyes turned to inspect him as dispassionately as a scientist examining a special insect.

"I want Isis to use her contacts to try to trace the mummy, and I should be able to access my databases using the museum's computer system. Whoever took the mummy must have left a record of some kind, especially if they sold it on the black market." His voice softened a little at the horror in Yami's expression. "There's a good chance we can get it back, especially since whoever it was obviously wanted only the mummy. After that, we can decide what to do."

"What about the Curse of the Pharaoh?" Yami asked hesitantly. "You have all been inside of the tomb as well…and the first person died soon after. 'Death shall slay on wings of light…' The curses were designed to act swiftly to stop the robbers before they got very far or could benefit in any way from their vile actions."

"We can't do much about it," Kaiba pointed out. Yami still looked worried, a fact that seemed to soothe his temper. "Yami, I won't ever fight you, you know that?"

"What?" It seemed like such a sudden pledge, serious and formal, and Yami didn't quite know how to take it. He had always fought Kaiba. They had always been rivals, and Kaiba would have been the last person he would have expected to back off. For some reason the thought that he _was_ giving up their rivalry made Yami feel something akin to the sensation of abandonment. "Kaiba, what do you mean?"

"Remember what Shadi showed us? He implied that everything in the past will happen again, and that we have to help each other now. He also said I have to learn who I really am."

Yami's expression carefully concealed his emotions. "I thought you never believed any of it."

"It's a bit late for belief, don't you think," Kaiba said with a tone of irony, "when people are dying?" He leaned closer to Yami, who fought not to fidget at the invasion of his space, and then closer still. For a moment Yami almost expected…what, he wasn't sure, but definitely something out of the ordinary.

"What was I to you, Yami? Or should I call you…Atem?"

Speechless, Yami could only look into those stunningly blue eyes, which forced him to admit to himself the truth. He had never expected Kaiba to come to this point, to confront him about the few vague memories he did have.

"Because I've been having…dreams," Kaiba continued slowly, watching him, and Yami wondered how he could have ever thought Kaiba's eyes were cold. He breathed shallowly, and licked his lips out of nervousness, then felt heat rise to his face when he realized the taller duelist was watching his every movement.

"That's all in the past," Yami managed. Kaiba was so _close _and he couldn't seem to think at all, beyond how much he wanted… "It doesn't matter—"

He found himself utterly silenced when Seto Kaiba leaned over and kissed him.

It was merely the slightest brush of lips at first, but as Yami recovered from his surprise and hesitantly kissed back, it shifted into something deeper. His eyes closed in pleasure and Yami all but melted into the brunette's embrace.

It seemed like a long while before Seto finally pulled away, his eyes still locked with Yami's, whose gaze was heavy-lidded, almost looking like a particularly satisfied royal Egyptian cat. Even cuddled up next to Seto and looking almost languid with desire, he retained some air of dignity that made him all the more irresistible.

Neither spoke, as if words would ruin the moment. What could two such proud individuals say, when they had finally stopped fighting and started kissing? Perhaps no words were even needed, only the kind of nonverbal acknowledgement that had always been between them. It was something that had been waiting to happen for so long that neither wanted to think too much about it, to ponder exactly why and how, for fear of making it something complicated—too complicated to survive this unexpected and delicate beginning.

Yami was content to rest his head on Kaiba's shoulder, in a position similar to how they had woken up, and found to his slight surprise—but growing feeling that this was exactly as it should be—that he enjoyed it immensely. Such a simple thing, really, but he wanted Kaiba by his side in this situation, just as Kaiba had seemingly always been there to see him rage and cry, worry and celebrate.

"Set-o Kai-ba," he tried experimentally, distinctively separating the syllables, and then, simply, as he never had before, "Seto." He didn't miss the sudden flash of gratification in normally unemotional eyes. Arms tightened around him briefly at the helicopter's descent, as if aware of the momentary trepidation Yami felt at the unreliability and strangeness of the technology around them.

"Mr. Kaiba, Miss Ishtar has been contacted and has consented to receive your call, if you wish to speak with her," the voice of the pilot interrupted. Kaiba took out something that looked vaguely like a headset, put it on, and pressed a button to the side of it.

"Isis," Kaiba said without preamble or formalities. "I want to know where Yami's mummy is."

"What makes you think _I _know?" Yami heard faintly, the voice smooth and rich, despite a slight accent.

"You have contacts, and I'm willing to bet not all of them are legal. You've probably had dozens of black market offers before, whether or not you've chosen to accept them. People come to _you_ when they want something, Isis, or when they have something." Kaiba's speech sounded calculated, rehearsed, although Yami was witness to the fact that he hadn't prepared at all.

There was a husky laugh that visibly irritated Kaiba, who couldn't forget how important this was, not with Yami next to him and still looking slightly worse for wear for the whole experience. "Very well put. However, I have heard nothing about the mummy that has recently been discovered."

"You might be able to tell us who might want something like that," Kaiba said without pause. "Who would take a mummy but none of the other treasures or artifacts? Who knows enough about Yami to realize that they might be able to control him through the mummy?"

"I have told you, Kaiba, I don't know." For a moment Yami thought that the connection had flickered, or that there had been some kind of hitch. Kaiba's expression told him otherwise; Isis must have inadvertently given something away. "However, I'm sure you know that I can best access my connections from the museum. We can meet in fifteen minutes and discuss the problem then."

"Don't be late," Kaiba warned, before he switched the headset off. He leaned back in the chair and stared at Yami rather thoughtfully.

"What is it?"

"She doesn't know, not right now, but I have the feeling that she might have someone in mind," Kaiba mused. "There really is no one in the world who has more interest or information on these things. We just have to make sure she's willing to share what's going on in that pretty head of hers."

"Kaiba, I won't let you hurt her," Yami warned. The smile he got in return wasn't reassuring.

"Who said anything about hurting her?" Kaiba asked innocently. As they left the helicopter, he gave Yami a hand down, and then grasped his elbow as they walked to the waiting car.

Half of Yami was a little irritated by the little actions Kaiba had decided to extend to him, but the other half was inordinately flattered. After all, Yami could never really remember spending such an extended period of time alone with Kaiba. Well, they were alone together, a paradox that he found he rather liked.

Once inside the privacy of the car, Kaiba turned to him. Yami couldn't help tensing, expecting some kind of backlash. In his experience, things didn't come together so perfectly, especially when those things concerned a rather stubborn young man who was already the CEO of his own company. Their love-hate relationship had lost its balance in some irreversible way, and surely it was too much to expect all of it to be good.

But Kaiba merely looked at him in a contemplative manner. "Someone obviously very much wants to hurt _you_. That is unacceptable."

As serious as Kaiba was being, Yami couldn't help but find it funny, and all the more so because of the way Kaiba phrased it. It was so authoritarian, so arrogant, so—Kaiba. He tried to choke back his laughter, finally letting a faint gasp escape that turned into a hasty cough. Kaiba looked suspiciously at the oddly acting Yami, who smiled a little too widely.

Still, the sentiment behind Kaiba's admission, especially since the brunette seemed to think it was akin to confessing his greatest weakness, touched Yami.

And so, this time to Kaiba's surprise, Yami leaned forward to initiate a kiss.

xxxxx

Yami watched in fascination as Kaiba set up the workstation, while Isis attempted to research on her own catalogue of artifacts. A long hour had already passed with little result, and Yami spent much of it pacing restlessly around the quiet museum room. He even wandered out into the Egyptian wing and started perusing the collections of jewelry and other notable items, but it was too disquieting to see these things from the past. Yami tried his best not to even think about the mummy that was out there, or the fact that the curse was probably still very much active.

He talked to Yugi, but Yami was half a world away from his friends, and it was an unnerving experience. It was not that he wasn't used to relying on himself, in the end, and there was Seto, but even so…the heart of this problem wasn't magic, or world domination, or any of the other things Yami had faced. No, Yami feared the past, and the past by definition was something he could not change.

His name repeated like an endless refrain in his mind. _Atem. The Pharoah Atem. _But try as he might, Yami still could not recall anything past that simple fact, and he had not even remembered it – he had merely read the hieroglyphics that were on the sarcophagus. Previously, his lack of memory had been an annoyance on occasion, a cause to mourn on others, but now it only stirred up very strong feelings of frustration.

Neither did it help that of the three, he alone had nothing in particular to do. Yami was not accustomed to helplessness, not with something as intangible and impossible as a magical curse set thousands of years before the present, and certainly not with something so bizarre, something that was part of him and yet was not. Would he be revolted to look upon his own decaying physical body?

Even the thought of it made him shudder. Did it really matter now that he was a spirit? Yes, somehow it did, or he wouldn't be afflicted by whatever was happening to the mummy. Yami was aware that the excruciating pain he had felt could come back at any moment – they had solved nothing, really, in removing themselves from Egypt. He was only thankful that it hadn't happened again, or at least, not yet.

"Have you found anything?" Kaiba asked Isis rather rudely from across the room. In fact, he was watching her closely, having felt that something was not entirely right for some time now.

She hesitated, confirming Kaiba's suspicions, then shook her head. "Nothing. It might be difficult to trace, even through less official channels if no one is offering to exchange it. We can only trace what's been passed from person to person, after all. It's possible that whoever took it in the first place is simply holding onto it, since they must know that your satellite communications system would relay any information to you in a matter of hours."

Kaiba abruptly abandoned his computer, walking to Isis as Yami tensed. He merely looked over his shoulder and whispered something in her ear that Yami couldn't quite hear. Unsure of what to do, Yami drew closer as if the two were a magnet. Kaiba turned one ironic eye on him and raised his voice, forestalling any attempt on Yami's part to interfere.

"I just traced an unusual transaction from an excavation site in El Minya," he said to Isis, whose eyes widened. "Now why don't I think you're doing as much as you really can to help Yami, Isis?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," she said defensively. "I've been doing everything within my power to help the pharaoh."

"Then will you care to explain how it is that an unknown mummy from El Minya was transported to this very museum only a few hours ago?" Kaiba leaned over her shoulder and all but breathed down her neck, as across the room Yami controlled his shock.

"H-here?" Her tan skin suddenly paled, and she put a hand up to the hollow of her throat, where she must have been wearing the Millennium Necklace beneath.

"You're protecting someone, Isis," Kaiba said flatly. "I have a good idea who it might be, but I want to hear you say it."

"I really don't know," she said, unable to stand because of Kaiba's position over her. "I would help the pharaoh at all costs, but I do not know."

"Really? At all costs?" Kaiba put a world of doubt in the words she had just uttered, and met her eyes squarely.

She looked away. "I cannot betray him, not even for the pharaoh. We were raised to value our duty to the pharaoh above all things, but… You would never abandon your brother, Kaiba, even for Yami."

"My brother would never do something that would put me in that position," Kaiba retorted. "So where is he?"

"Malik," Yami said slowly, feeling as if he had overlooked something very obvious. "He knows enough about me, and might have the will to do something like this, even now."

Kaiba put his hands on Isis' shoulders, squeezing painfully until tears glistened in her exotically shaped eyes. "Where is he?"

She twisted to face Kaiba, wrenching out of his grasp, and he merely grabbed her wrists when she would have tried to leave. Forcing her arms above her head, Kaiba glowered at her, then paused when her expression turned from one of pain to one of surprise. It was followed by Yami's sudden cry.

Over Isis' shoulder, Kaiba could see that Yami had slumped to the floor, arms wrapped around his own chest and eyes shut tight. He abandoned Isis in an instant and started across the room, only to be stopped in his tracks by a familiar voice.

"It's not my sister you want, Kaiba."

Kaiba turned around, seeing Isis where he'd left her, and another figure, robed with flowing desert colored clothes, next to her. Nothing but his eyes were visible, and something golden that glinted on his brow—the uraeus, the Egyptian cobra used as a symbol of sovereignty and divine authority in ancient Egypt. It was something that would have adorned Yami's head, and his body.

"I'm the one who has Yami's life in my hands," Malik said. "It's a pity, I thought I would be able to control him longer, but he seems to be dying. Such weakness of will, from the former pharaoh...who would have known?"

xxxxx

**A/N: **Unedited, so please forgive themany typos.I know, I update this story every so often out of the blue, with literally years in between, but I haven't completely abandoned it. I always try my best to continue if I know that people are reading and enjoying the story, so if you stumbled across this old story and would like for me to update,**please review! **I might surprise you.


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